Blank Slate
by tresmaraudeur
Summary: Fourteen years ago, their slate had been wiped clean. With no memory of their pasts, they built a new life, but after an owl delivers a strange letter to their daughter, the life they built is beginning to crumble around them. With help from old friends, Lily and James Potter remember their pasts and return to the Wizarding World while Harry faces his fifth year at Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this story; it just came to me the other morning while I was halfway between sleeping and waking and I had to get it out of my head, so I'm just going to go with it and see where it takes me. I've always been sort of a fanfiction lurker, reading stories here and there but keeping to the sidelines but I was intrigued by the idea of James and Lily somehow surviving so here's my take, I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

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The only thing he knew for certain was that every muscle in his body ached, most of all, his head. There was damp earth beneath him, stars above him and a cold breeze that gave him a chill. Had it been warmer, he might have stayed put but the seasons were changing and winter would be there soon.

He rubbed his eyes and straightened his crooked glasses- that's when he realized blood was dripping down his face from a tender wound on his hairline. How had that happened? In fact, how had any of this happened? He sat up in a panic, looking around for anything familiar. It was all foreign to him. The field he was in, the trees beyond it, the cottage about a hundred yards away and the street beyond that. None of it was familiar. How had he gotten here?

_It's him- take Harry and run- I'll hold him off!_

_Avada Kedavra!_

_Take me instead!_

_Stand aside! Avada Kedavra!_

His head exploded in pain and the words began to fade quickly from his memory. He tried desperately to grasp onto them, but they were gone, as though they were in another language, one he couldn't even hope to understand or remember.

What was the last thing he remembered? He tried to think back to several hours ago, what had he been doing? It was blank. What about several days ago, what had he done last week? Blank. A month ago? Blank. A year ago? Blank. Years and years ago? Blank. It was all blank.

What was his first memory? He focused remembering, it was as though all the answers were hidden behind the wall and there was no door to get through and no way to break it down. He could feel the wall and all the answers behind it, but he couldn't get to them. His first memory was mere minutes ago, waking up on the damp ground looking up at the stars.

How old was he? What did he look like? What was his name? Did he have a family? Basic questions he didn't have answers to flooded him.

He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, but it caught on something- a ring. A gold wedding band encircled his left hand ring finger. He was married, the thought filled him hope. Maybe that was his cottage a hundred yards away. Maybe his wife was there, or someone he knew, someone who knew him.

He pushed himself to stand but a flash of red caught his eye. She had been behind him the whole time, lying in the grass just like him, though she was not yet conscious. She was young, barely twenty, if that, with long flowing hair that was a vibrant shade of red and delicate features covered in freckles. Her eyes were closed, he didn't have a clue as to what color they could be and yet he somehow knew that they were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen and that the woman had a radiant smile to match. On the ring finger of her left hand was a wedding band. His wife, he knew instantly.

"Hey," he shook her shoulder gently, "Wake up," he whispered, "Please, wake up." She didn't stir. His heart was in his throat, he couldn't swallow his panic. With shaky hands, he placed his index and middle fingers on the inside of her wrist and held his breath. She had a pulse. He released a breath of relief, she was unconscious, but now he didn't feel so alone.

He lifted her carefully and carried her towards the little cottage. He was bleeding and couldn't remember his own name and she was unconscious. They needed help and the cottage was their only option.

He pounded on the door, but it was the middle of the night, whoever lived here would be fast asleep, he didn't know what else to do or where else to go so he kept knocking. It took several minutes and he was close to giving up when eventually the old woman answered the door. She was a small, shriveled thing though her warm brown eyes shone with youthful energy. "Can you help us?" he asked desperately.

"Oh, my," she said, concern upon her face. "Let me get my keys, I'll take you to the hospital."

The little old Volkswagon sputtered and hissed but started regardless and they drove in silence. He sat in the back seat with the redhead still in his arms, half afraid that she would disappear if he let her go. He brushed a piece of hair out of her face, she really was beautiful.

"So, what happened to you?" the old woman asked suddenly.

He stayed silent for a long moment. "I'm not sure." The rearview mirror showed her cocking a curious eyebrow, but she didn't press him.

"What's your name?" It occurred to him how completely ridiculous it was that he couldn't remember his own name. How could this have happened? He wanted to be angry at the situation but instead he only felt the crushing weight of grief and mourning for a life he couldn't remember. He could only hope that the redhead would have answers when she woke up.

"I don't remember," he said in a tone that was barely louder than a whisper.

Now the old woman looked really surprised, "What about her name?"

He looked down at the redhead again. He could feel the answer, just behind the wall that was keeping him in the dark- if only he could break through it. It was something that started with E, he thought. Yes, that seemed right: E-V- but past the second letter he was lost.

Evan. The name came to him suddenly, but Evan wasn't a girl's name.

Evans, then, it could be their last name. It seemed almost right for her, but completely wrong for him. He didn't feel like a person whose last name was Evans.

Eva. It still didn't feel right but he couldn't think of anything else, maybe he had been completely wrong in the first place. He couldn't remember his own name so how could he know hers? "I don't know," his words came out like a frustrated sigh, the way he spoke was the way a student might guess to answer a teacher's question. "Eva, maybe?" He considered the name again, looking at the redhead in his arms and gave up. She would know her name when she woke up. "I can't remember anything," he said very seriously, "I just hope she will wake up and tell me who I am. All I know is that we're married and I feel like I love her more than anything, but that's it. Everything else is blank. I don't know anything."

She absorbed the information then said, "My name is Ethel," she smiled kindly, "Now you know that too." He couldn't help but smile back at her.

As they arrived at the hospital, the redhead's eyelids began to flutter. "What happened?" She asked groggily. Her eyes were more captivating than he could have imagined. The irises were like two emeralds, not only in color but in the way they caught the light and came alive. He couldn't look away from those enchanting eyes.

He explained everything he knew, from the moment he woke up to the drive to the hospital; he finished by saying, "I was hoping you would wake up and be able to tell me what happened or who I am. Who we are."

The redhead closed her eyes again and shook her head. "I don't know," she said, a tear rolled down her cheek. "I don't know. I can't remember my name. I can't remember anything. I don't know who I am or who you are or why my head hurts so badly."

"Hey, hey," he soothed, his disappointment pushed aside by his desire to see her happy, to be the one to make her happy or at the very least, lessen her pain. "It'll be alright. We'll figure this out." Eyes still closed, she nodded, releasing a long breath.

The doctors were completely and utterly confused by them. They both had head trauma, his was on his hairline near his right temple and hers on the back of her head, but both were minor concussions at worst. Their injuries were not severe enough to have possibly caused permanent brain damage or amnesia, yet their memories were not returning. The doctors had resolved that the brain was a complex thing that no one could even begin to understand and sometimes unexplainable things just happened.

Every day, the couple checked newspapers and missing persons, but never saw their own faces and no one came looking for them despite the article that had been written about them. At the end of a week, the doctors told them they didn't know what else they could do for the couple, their physical injuries had nearly healed and there wasn't anything on their scans or tests that indicated that they needed to be kept there. The doctors recommended that the couple be transferred to a long term care facility that specialized in brain injuries but Ethel wouldn't hear of it and outright demanded that the two be released into her care.

She visited them every day, she was lonely, her husband had died a few years before and she didn't have any children or living family so she visited the two strangers in the hospital. She told them stories of her past, tried to help them unravel their pasts and even helped them choose names to use until they discovered their real ones.

They had decided on Eva for the woman, like the man had said in the car. It still didn't quite seem to fit her, but it suited her better than anything else they could come up with. And for the man, they chose Jacob because it was the only name he didn't hate. They had spent days spitting out all the boy names they could think of, and he had rejected every single one until Jacob. He said he could _probably_ live with being called Jacob. They hadn't told her yet, but Eva and Jacob had decided to adopt Ethel's last name, Andrews, as a way to honor and thank her for her help.

Ethel argued with the doctors and at last convinced them to release Jacob and Eva into her care. With no money, no house and no identities, Jacob and Eva lived with Ethel. She knew nearly everyone in the little town they lived in and found Eva a job at the library and Jacob a spot at the police academy with ease. She helped them get back on their feet and when her health began to decline, it was Jacob and Eva who took care of her, for a time. Her health decreased rapidly and she passed away peacefully in her sleep less than a year after Eva and Jacob had come into her life. She gave them everything, but most importantly, she gave them a home.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm so excited about the positive responses I got on the first chapter, so a HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed and without further ado, here is chapter two!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

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"Dad!" A voice shrieked, "Daddy!" Jacob raced into the kitchen, his daughter was behind the counter and her eyes were fixed on the thing across the room. When he followed her gaze, it was no wonder. Perched on the faucet of their kitchen sink was a haughty looking brown owl.

"It's an owl," he stated calmly. It was a curious thing to happen, although Jacob was not entirely shocked. Maybe he should have been, any normal person would have been shocked, though Jacob was not entirely normal. The owl gazed at him and cocked its head, as though it was studying him, Jacob stared back.

Over the years, there were certain things that would trigger a feeling he could not quite describe or put his finger on. These incidents would make him suddenly aware of the wall in his head, the wall that kept him from the memories of his past. Most of the time, they were simple things or things that did not quite make sense, but they were all pieces of the puzzle. While the individual pieces might not look like much, eventually they would come together to create a big picture.

Once it had been a massive black dog someone had been walking in town that caused the sensation, another time it had happened when he had gotten off the train at King's Cross Station. Often times, he picked up lilies for his wife on his way home from work, not only to surprise her, but because it would trigger the feeling. He also liked to help Eva when she wrote her books, fantasy picture books for children, because the stories seemed somehow familiar, like something he had forgotten from his old life.

He referred to the sensation as his "wall itching." Each occurrence made a scratch in the wall, or that's how he saw it. Now, the wall was covered in scratches and someday, he would scratch right through it, fully penetrating it and then he would get his memories back. When he had a therapist, right after The Incident, she had told him that visualizing it like that might be helpful in recovering his memory, though fourteen years later he didn't feel any closer to getting his memories back. However, he was still optimistic that someday it would happen and seeing the owl in the kitchen made another scratch in the wall and brought him a step closer to his past.

Whenever the wall itched, he would try to scratch it further, focusing on the feelings he associated with the thing and what it might mean. Owls meant something good, he sensed; the sight of it filled him with excitement and although it appeared to be a wild animal, he knew he had no need to be afraid of it. He approached the bird, though he did so carefully, he hadn't completely lost his common sense.

"Hey there," he said gently, a stroke of madness or instinct caused him to hold his hand out to the owl. It hopped up and perched on his arm right away, _hoo_-ing happily. Jacob laughed and stroked him, noting that there was a letter tied to his leg. Owls meant letters and packages, he realized. But no, that didn't make sense; the post was for letters and packages, why would anyone use an owl to deliver a package?

Amelia watched him with the owl, wide-eyed, "Here," he held the owl out close to the eleven-year-old and shyly, she stroked him too. The owl nipped playfully at her fingers and she giggled, growing more comfortable with the creature. "There's a letter tied to his leg, can you take it off?" She nodded and deftly untied the letter.

The envelope was yellowish and emerald green script addressed the letter to Miss Amelia Andrews. "It's addressed to me," she said, amazed and surprised. Jacob was filled with excitement and happiness for her as well as anticipation, as though they had been waiting for this day to come, the day that their daughter would receive her letter. But, what letter? His head hurt as it sometimes did when the wall itched and he kept scratching it. He knew that meant that this was something big and important so he pressed on.

"Well, open it," he grinned. Her hazel eyes grew wider and wider as she read. He could never believe how much she looked like her mother. They shared the same long, red hair and the same delicate features. But there was a lot of Jacob in her as well; her hazel eyes were his and her long nose, though hers was covered in freckles. She was studious and bright with her mother's ability to sit still and read quietly for hours, but she also had her father's penchant for mischief and pranks. Jacob always mused that she was a perfect combination of all the best qualities of her parents.

They had named her Amelia after Ethel; it had been her middle name. Jacob had always felt that names should mean something and that children should be named after someone important. Having no family to speak of besides Ethel, they had named their only child after her

"What does it say?" Wordlessly, Amelia handed him the letter, her face painted with wonder and amazement. He took it from her and began to read:

_Dear Miss Andrews, _

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. _

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31. _

_Yours sincerely, _

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Jacob looked at his daughter, unsure of what to make of this letter. It was impossible, completely impossible. Magic was not real, any sane person knew that. But something about this letter and this situation was making the wall itch like it never had before. He looked at the letter again then back to Amelia, but his daughter's expression had changed from hopeful and amazed to disappointed and cross. "What's wrong?"

She huffed angrily, "This is just a really stupid prank. It's completely idiotic." Tears welled in her eyes; she had let herself believe it for a moment. But she was a bright kid, reality collided with her again and she realized that it could not be true.

But _why_ couldn't it be true? Jacob could recall at least half a dozen occasions where strange things had happened around Amelia. The first time they had left her with a babysitter, for instance, she had been about a year-and-a-half. As soon as Eva and Jacob had started to leave, Amelia had started screaming. The babysitter assured them that she would stop soon after they left, they had tried to go, but the door was stuck. They tried every door out of the house and they were all stuck. Only when Eva took Amelia from the babysitter again did the door spring open, allowing only the babysitter to leave. It had been strange, he reassured himself, but not magical, though he wasn't entirely convinced.

"Why don't you write back?" He was not sure why he suggested it, it might just get her hopes up and then she would be crushed all over again, or that's what his reasonable side told him. The part of him that was scratching at the wall told him that writing back would get them answers, not only answers about the letter but answers about the parts of their lives they could not remember. His mind was torn, but his gut told him that writing back was the best option. "Here," he handed her a pen and sheet of paper. She sat at the counter and considered for a moment before letting the pen fly across the paper.

"Done," she said, setting the pen down and looking rather smug. She handed the paper to Jacob to let him read.

_Dear Mrs. McGonagall, _

_I don't know who you really are (though I have a few guesses as to who could pull a prank so lame) but I'm not gullible enough to believe that magic school is real. If you need help coming up with pranks in the future, my dad and I are really good at them. _

_Yours sincerely, _

_Amelia Andrews_

He smiled, folded the letter and tied it to the owl's leg. "Perfect." He didn't know how, but the owl knew exactly where it was going and flew out the window, disappearing into the distance.

Far away in a castle in Scotland, Minerva McGonagall sighed as she finished reading the letter she had just received. She had encountered the situation before. The record showed that the girl was half-blood; at least one of her parents should know that she was a witch, but they had neglected to tell her.

With the beginning of term just around the corner, she would need to explain everything to the girl now to give her time to adjust. Rereading the letter quickly, she hoped that the girl would not be in her house, Gryffindor. She had had enough headaches caused by pranksters like the marauders and the Weasley twins. With the twins still at Hogwarts, this girl would no doubt learn their ways and take over pranking when they left school.

Professor McGonagall left the letter on her desk, gathered her things and began the walk to Hogsmeade, where she could apparate away to the Andrews' house.

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So there it is! I know it wasn't terribly long, but chapter three is in the works and is already longer. I hope you enjoyed, let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Another HUGE thank you to my lovely reviewers, you guys are seriously awesome and my motivation to keep writing this story! So anyways, here is the lengthy chapter three, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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As Jacob and Amelia recounted to her the strange events of their morning, Eva listened patiently. There was something about the story that she could not put her finger on, something that stirred memories she could not remember. He husband always described the feeling as his wall itching. "That is very strange," she said once they had finished. She wondered if they were making the whole thing up, they often liked to play little pranks and tricks on her; the two of them were quite skilled at synchronizing their stories.

However, her daughter's distress and lack of amusement told her they were not making this up. "Do you think you'll hear back?" Amelia only shrugged and left the kitchen for her bedroom, her disappointment written clearly across her face.

Eva had to wonder if it was her fault. While working at the library she had begun to come up with ideas for children's stories which became picture books, which had gotten published. Throughout Amelia's childhood she had been surrounded by these magical stories. The hero in Eva's books was always an old wizard with sparkling blue eyes and a long white beard. He dressed in robes, wore a pointed hat and wielded a wand. The wizard had all sorts of adventures battling dragons and dark wizards.

Growing up around so much fantasy, had Amelia started to believe it was all true? Or at least hope it was? Eva knew that magic was not real, but deep in her heart she had always hoped it was, maybe her daughter had hoped the same and perhaps Jacob had too. While Amelia was crestfallen and incredulous, Jacob had told the story with excitement, he was more anxious to receive a reply than his disbelieving daughter.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, "Are you expecting anyone?" Jacob shook his head. Ethel's little cottage was fairly isolated, people never just stopped by. They had stayed there all those years, not because they could not leave, they had the means to buy a different house now, but they did not want to. It was home and it was the only home either of them had ever known. Well, the only home either of them _remembered_.

Eva thought about The Incident every day. When she had woken up, in Jacob's arms all those years ago, she should have panicked, that was what any sane person would do. Jacob had been a stranger after all. But she felt so safe in his arms, when he told her it would be alright, she believed him and later, when he told her that they were married, she didn't feel so alone. There was something about Jacob that was warm and familiar, even though she couldn't remember him.

At first, they didn't act like a married couple; they agreed that it would be best for them to get to know themselves and each other first. As Eva rediscovered herself and she fell hard for Jacob. He frustrated her to no end, he could make her laugh until she couldn't breathe and he loved her to the ends of the Earth. Since the only record of their marriage had been the rings on their fingers, they were remarried shortly after Ethel's death and Amelia had been born a few years later.

Eva opened the door and on their doorstep was a rather severe looking woman. Her features were sharp and strict, her hair was pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and she wore the strangest clothes, emerald green robes, like the ones the wizard in Eva's books wore. When she saw Eva, the woman gasped and her eyes went wide. She placed one hand over her heart in shock and the other she used to support herself on the door frame. "Merlin," she whispered. "Can it really be you?" The woman's eyes searched Eva and Jacob's faces frantically.

Eva exchanged an anxious glance with her husband, "Do you know us?" Her voice was shaky. Could this be it, what they had been waiting for all these years? Had someone from their past finally found them?

They had always hoped that something like this would happen, but after weeks and months and years of silence, Eva did not think anyone from their old lives would ever come find them. Their old lives must not have been worth going back to, if no one had cared enough to find them, Eva thought. Besides, they were happy in the new life they had created for themselves.

"No," she said quickly, standing tall again, it was suddenly obvious that this woman had not meant to find them. "It isn't possible. What kind of sick joke is this? Are you Death Eaters?" The woman pulled out a wood stick and pointed it at them, which seemed like a ridiculous thing to do, but it instilled fear in Eva, she grasped Jacob's forearm. "Why are you impersonating them?" Anger shone in the woman's eyes, but there was also grief. She had cared for the people she thought Eva and Jacob were, if only they could convince her to tell them.

"Who? We aren't impersonating anyone," Jacob stepped in fiercely but Eva could tell how desperate he was to find out who she thought they were.

The woman shook her head. "This is impossible. They died fourteen years ago."

Fourteen years ago, that was when their memories started, anything before that was blank. They could very well be the people this woman was talking about and there was something familiar about her, the sight of her made the wall itch like mad.

It all made sense too, any family and friends they had thought they were dead, and people don't go looking for dead people. "Please," Eva begged, "We woke up fourteen years ago with no memories. If you think you might know who we are, please tell us."

The woman looked unsure now, she glanced back and forth between them suspiciously; her wand lowered slightly, "You look a great deal like James and Lily Potter."

Her heart leapt at the sound of their names. "Lily Potter," she tried the name out. It sounded so right, like it was the name she was supposed to have and the person she was supposed to be, whoever that was. She loved the name, she loved having James's last name in place of hers, being Mrs. Potter. What had her maiden name been? She frowned and her eye brows knitted together in thought and concentration.

"Evans," James whispered, as though he had read her mind. That was it, Evans, her maiden name and the name he had first thought of when they had woken up all those years ago. He used to call her by her last name when they were younger, constantly taunting and teasing her until he finally grew up enough for her to tolerate him and then, somehow, they had fallen in love.

_Go out with me Evans. Go on… Go out with me…_

"James Potter, the arrogant toerag," The words came from a memory she could not access, there must be a crack in her wall now, things from her past were leaking through. Her head ached so badly, but she didn't care. "Will you come in? I can put on the kettle." She addressed the woman now, whoever she was, she was the key to their past. She was distrustful of them and perhaps even frightened, if they could put her at ease, she might open up.

The woman eyed her warily, as though Eva might slip rat poison in the tea, "I'm sending for Albus." She waved her wand and said, "Expecto Patronum!" A silver cat erupted from the tip of the wand; it was a strange sight but not entirely shocking. The image of a silver doe came to Lily's mind.

The woman whispered to it and the cat bounded off. Then there was silence, the woman watched them mutely. Lily studied her, willing more information to slip through the crack. Somehow she knew that the woman was strict, though kind, she had liked and respected her a lot from wherever it was she knew her from.

James stared at the woman, biting his lip, he apparently recognized her too. "You got irritated with me a lot. You were my teacher, I think, and you hated me… I would always make good grades without studying or trying and I would always get in trouble... Professor…" he trailed off, unable to come up with a name.

"McGonagall," the professor finished for him. She was the woman who had written Amelia from the magic school. Could it be true? Lily felt the excitement again, the same excitement she had felt as a girl when she received her letter. There were mixed emotions there, at the memory of receiving her own Hogwarts letter, overwhelming excitement but fear and sadness as well, though she could not remember why.

For a moment, there was less disbelief in Professor McGonagall's eyes, but they hardened again quickly. "Anyone could have told you that. It's no secret that James Potter was a frustrating student."She paused before continuing in a softer tone, "I never hated him though."

"I'm flattered, Minnie," James flashed a charming smile at her, the professor looked bewildered. That was just the sort of thing he always did when they were in school together…

Lily tried to remember Professor McGonagall's class, her head hurt so badly but she kept pushing it in attempt to widen the crack and get her memories back. "It was difficult for me, your class. I studied so hard and just couldn't get the hang of it and it made me so angry that Potter had so much natural talent for it." She was missing something huge, a giant piece of the puzzle. "Professor, what happened to us?"

Eva had a sinking feeling that it was something awful and terrible and tragic. It must have been, they had ended up with memory loss and they had left behind people they loved, but who? She looked to her professor for answers, her lips parted slightly, but whatever she had been about to say was cut short by the cracking sounds of people appearing around them. Lily jumped; she had never gotten used to people apparating around her, it always unnerved her.

There were three people who had apparated on their doorstep; one was an old man, who closely resembled the wizard in her stories. He had a long white beard, sparkling blue eyes behind half moon glasses and wore purple robes. The second man was not quite as old, but he looked as though life had chewed him up and spat him out several times over, his features were worn and drawn downwards in a permanent scowl. He had apparently lost an eye at some point, in its place was something unnatural, the prosthetic eye moved independently of the other, focusing on Eva, then Jacob. Eva felt as though the eye was looking straight through her. A girl had also accompanied them, she was hardly older than Eva and Jacob had been when they lost their memories, her hair was a brilliant shade of pink.

"May we come in?" The old wizard asked, his eyes sparkled but did not reveal his thoughts, "I believe we have a great deal to talk about." Lily knew that she respected the old wizard a lot and admired him. He was another professor from Hogwarts, like Professor McGonagall, she guessed.

"You're as mad and senile as they've been saying, Albus, it's clearly a trap, set by Death Eaters," the man with the strange eye said. This man didn't seem familiar at all, Lily must not have ever met him though he scared her a little, he seemed a bit mad.

The old wizard held up a tiny vial of clear liquid, "Veritaserum will tell us," he addressed James and Lily once more, "May we come in?" he asked again. Wordlessly, Lily nodded and stepped aside to allow them entry to her home. When they settled in the living room, he held the vial up again. "This is a potion called Veritaserum, it will extract the truth from anyone who takes it, all it takes is a few drops."

Jacob furrowed his brow; these strangers showed up at their door and asked them to take a strange potion. His sensible, muggle Jacob side told him that taking the potion was a terrible idea, yet James knew it was the only way to gain their trust and unravel their past. He trusted them, he didn't know why, but he knew he could trust them. He had known them in his past, he could feel it. They had all been sort of mentors to him, save the girl with the pink hair, James was quite certain he had never met her, though if he had, she would have been a child at the time.

He nodded and began to say they'd take the potion, but a small voice from behind interrupted him. "What's happening?"

Amelia. He had almost forgotten she was there; she stood half hidden behind the door frame. Jacob's voice caught in his throat, how could he even begin to explain this to his daughter when he wasn't sure what was happening himself?

"You must be Amelia," the old wizard said kindly, for which Jacob was thankful, Eva seemed to have lost her voice as well. "Did you get your Hogwarts letter today?"

She stared the man in the eye boldly. "That was a prank," Amelia said defiantly. Her eyes drifted to the girl with the pink hair, then the man with the strange eye. When she saw him, her eyes darted away frantically, but a moment later, she snuck another peek at him and his mad eye.

The old wizard's eyes twinkled in amusement and he smiled, "Every word of that letter was true. Nymphadora, why don't you keep Amelia company and tell her a little bit about Hogwarts?" _Nymphadora_, the pink-haired woman, looked slightly disappointed to be left out of the excitement, but she stood regardless. James knew his daughter was safe with this woman, it was insane to trust a stranger with his child like that, but it felt right.

He nodded to Amelia and smiled reassuringly to let her know it was alright and once she and Nymphadora had retreated to Amelia's room, James took his wife's hand in his. They exchanged a glance and he knew instantly that she was thinking the same thing he was, "We'll take the potion."

"Very well," the old wizard put three drops of the potion on each of their tongues. It didn't taste like anything and he didn't feel differently after taking it. James looked to the old wizard expectantly. "Do you know who I am?"

"No," Eva answered at the same time. The old man was familiar, yes, but Jacob didn't know who he was or where he knew him from. The school maybe, the same school Professor McGonagall taught at, Hogwarts. His name was Albus, he knew that much, but that didn't really mean anything.

"Are you taking Polyjuice Potion to make yourselves look like Lily and James Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked quietly, the grief that had been present before was back.

"No," they said simultaneously again.

"Are you Death Eaters?" The man with the mad eye growled.

"No," the man looked mildly surprised. Truthfully, Jacob didn't even know what a Death Eater was, though his heart jumped from fear of the words.

The man did not appear to be entirely appeased by their answer and next demanded, "Do you work for Voldemort?"

Voldemort. The word rang in his ears and his whole body went cold with fear. By the way Lily clutched his hand he knew she felt the same way. Whoever or whatever Voldemort was, it wasn't good, his head felt as though it were about to explode, the wall was cracking.

He saw a white face and gleaming red eyes. _Avada Kedavra! _

James rubbed his temples, it was all too much, "He tried to kill us, didn't he? We should have died, we should be dead… How did we survive?"

Eva shook her head, tears in her eyes, "I don't remember any of it. I don't remember V- him. I just know I'm afraid." She couldn't say the name from fear. James wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head.

The old wizard did not answer James' question, but moved on to the next, a bit of wonder shining in those old blue eyes. "Who are you?"

James hesitated, but the truth spilled out of him anyways, "If you had asked me yesterday, I would have said Jacob Andrews, without a doubt. But today… Today, I know I am James Potter." If only he knew just who James Potter really was. He had been forced to rediscover himself fourteen years ago; it seemed now that he would have to do it all over again. James Potter couldn't be terribly different from Jacob Andrews, could he?

The old wizard nodded, regarding him curiously, "And you, my dear, who are you?" he addressed Lily now.

"Lily Evans Potter," she said without any hesitation, "But I'm also Eva Andrews. She is a part of me too."

The old wizard nodded simply. Professor McGonagall had tears in her eyes and her hand over her mouth in shock. The other wizard still regarded them suspiciously, but James had a feeling that he regarded everyone suspiciously. "If you could, please tell us your version of the events of the past fourteen years."

James began the story since he had woken up first that night. He told them of Ethel and the doctors and the hospital. Somewhere during his story, Lily took over, telling them in detail about their amnesia, she had researched it extensively and described how James's had been slightly different than hers.

She thought it was the strangest thing when they were at the hospital, he kept asking what all the machines did, how they worked, what the wires did and why they were necessary. Eva had found it exhausting to keep up with his never ending questions about the most basic things. She thought perhaps more normal surroundings, like a house, would help, but it didn't. He had no idea how to work the toaster or the lawn mower or even how to replace a light bulb. She had found him standing in the dark one night because "the light was gone." As Lily spoke she realized it had been because James never knew any of those things being a pureblood wizard while Lily had been muggle born.

Then together, they told of their various failed attempts at finding friends and family in the muggle world, how they had fallen in love again easily and every other detail of their lives from Amelia's birth to Lily's books and James's work as a police officer.

Lily's parents were long dead, she remembered painfully, but she had a sister in the muggle world, though she couldn't remember her well. Maybe they hadn't been close. She apparently had not seen any of James and Lily's ads in the muggle newspapers, but then, why would she look in missing persons for people she knew to be dead?

When they finished their story, Professor McGonagall was in tears, "It's them Albus, it's really them."

"It is indeed," the old wizard said. The man with the mad eye was even silent with shock. "Welcome back, Lily and James."

"Thank you…" James trailed off, not knowing how to address the man.

"Albus," he said with a kind smile, "Albus Dumbledore. You've met Minerva, this is Alastor Moody, he's an auror, as is Nymphadora- Nymphadora Tonks, though she prefers to be known by her surname."

"An auror," James repeated the word. Aurors were like the police officers of the wizarding world, he remembered. His parents had been aurors, but he could not recall what had happened to them or anything about that for that matter… He had been one as well. "You trained me, didn't you?" he addressed Moody, "Mad-Eye Moody, we called you…"

"The name stuck," Mad-Eye muttered gruffly while James grinned.

"Albus, please, tell us everything we've missed," Lily couldn't shake the feeling that they were still missing something huge. There was something the rest of them were avoiding; Professor McGonagall glanced worriedly at Albus.

"Lily," he said slowly and in a way that she knew right off he wasn't going to answer her questions. "I think you should remember things in your own time, for now. We don't know what caused your amnesia or what the effects could be if we push too hard, but I will start researching potions that may speed up the process. Today has already been a taxing day for both of you, and for us. I think it would be best if we took our leave for now. We have a lot of business to take care of, we will need to inform people of your… Resurfacing… And you need to rest."

"Albus," she said, matching his tone, she didn't want to admit he was right. She wanted her past back. "We were prepared to die for something and everyone believed that we had. What was it?"

He was silent for a long moment, studying her over his half moon glasses, "Peace." That was not it, she knew immediately. "Yes, there is more to it than that, a great deal more, but for now, please accept that answer. But your sacrifice_ did_ give us nearly fourteen years of peace." _What sacrifice?_ Lily thought, they hadn't really died. "I think I should come back tomorrow, with a few of your old friends, perhaps, to help jog your memories."

Lily eyed him carefully, "I trust you, Albus."And she did, truly, with her life and with her past. "Can you come around ten?" She hated that he was right; it made her furious and more frustrated than she had ever been but she was exhausted and did not know how much more of this she could have taken. But she wanted answers, after so long the answers were within her grasp.

"Yes, I think that will work out well." Mad-Eye had gone to fetch Tonks, not being particularly sentimental. "Lily, James, it has been so wonderful to see you again." He shook both their hands and Professor McGonagall embraced them both warmly.

"So, it's them? They're really James and Lily?" Tonks was asking energetically as they rejoined the others in the living room.

"Yes," Mad-Eye replied in his usual, gruff manner. Tonks beamed at them and Lily smiled kindly back at her.

"Well then," Dumbledore said, "Until tomorrow." Then he addressed his companions, "Back to headquarters, I should think." And with a crack, they each disappeared into thin air and it was almost as though they had never been there at all.

* * *

Please don't hate me! I think it's important that James and Lily have their friends' support when they remember Harry, so that will happen soon. Anyways, I promise, chapter 4 is written; I just need to edit it obsessively before posting.

Hopefully switching back and forth between Eva and Lily and Jacob and James wasn't too confusing, I really wanted to show the transition as they began remembering their old lives, Lily/James referring to them as they remembered bits of their lives and Eva/Jacob being in the dark still. So I hope all that made sense, but from here on out, they'll most likely just be James and Lily.

Anyways, I love hearing from you guys so let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry, my lovely readers, editing this chapter took me way longer than it should have! I worked like 50 hours this week (don't you just love summer jobs?) and it was completely and utterly exhausting so I haven't had much motivation.

Of course, a huge thank you to my reviewers- you guys are spectacular! Here is chapter 4!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

They were getting restless; it was easy enough for Albus to see that he couldn't stall any longer. They needed to know, but he feared their reactions. They were all there; all the members of the Order of the Phoenix. His eyes wandered around the table and found Severus Snape. The cold and lonely boy had turned into a cold and lonely man with his lank black hair, black eyes and a hooked nose that seemed to have grown with age. He and Lily had been close once and Albus knew about his feelings towards her. Perhaps he should have talked to Severus about this separately.

Someone finally spoke up, "Albus, will you please tell us what this emergency meeting is about?" Albus Dumbledore stood at the head of the table in the kitchen of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, looking again at all the curious and worried faces of the people who had gathered with him. Alastor, Minerva and Nymphadora stood with him; he might need their support in telling this unbelievable story and convincing everyone that it was true.

People watched him expectantly, this wouldn't exactly be easy. People didn't just come back from the dead, even in the wizarding world. And, even though they weren't really dead to begin with, it would still be impossible, in their eyes.

"You will all need to prepare yourselves, this news is quite shocking and I doubt any of you will believe it right away. This information cannot and will not leave this room." Most of the Order of the Phoenix looked somewhere between confused and worried now. The room had been soundproofed more than usual, there was no way even the Weasley twins' clever invention could bypass the wards.

"Minerva was responding in person to a disbelieving letter from a prospective Hogwarts student earlier today," Albus continued, "When she arrived at the house, she was met by the girl's parents. Her parents looked to be identical to two people we have believed to be dead for years. Naturally, she summoned Alastor, Nymphadora and myself." The pink-haired girl scowled.

"We discovered that these two people had suffered from amnesia- they had no memories of their past and didn't even know their real names until today. I assure you, they have been questioned extensively under veritaserum and they are not Death Eaters or in any way associated with Voldemort." The whole table flinched at the name. "They are not impostors, I promise you." He was still stalling a bit, he realized.

"Who were they, Albus?" It was Emmeline Vance who had quietly asked what no one else dared after a long moment of tense silence. She was a small woman with dark hair, brown eyes and a pretty face. She had come from an old pureblood line, though she was a half-blood herself. There was something about her appearance that was always regal, aristocratic almost. She had been very beautiful in her youth, though the years had had their effects on her, as they had on everyone who had survived the first war, she was still very beautiful. Years ago, she had been as close to Lily as Sirius had been to James.

"James and Lily Potter." Emmeline went pale; her eyes were wide and her mouth agape. Some people gasped, some began whispering to their neighbors, but Sirius Black silenced them all, he stood so quickly that his chair toppled over behind him.

"James and Lily are dead, Albus. That is _not_ possible. I _saw_ their bodies." His grey eyes shone with anger and disbelief. Albus had seen their bodies too, a great number of people had and their bodies had been buried all those years ago. Or at least that is what they all had thought.

Albus shook his head, almost as confused as the rest of them. "I don't know what explanation to offer, or how this is even possible, though I intend to research it extensively. The two people we met today were, without a doubt, Lily and James Potter."

The room was dead silent for a long moment, everyone was somewhere between shock and disbelief, though Sirius was fuming. Remus Lupin, despite how he might have felt, spoke up the way he always did, in a calm, reasonable voice. "Do they remember everything now?" Remus had always been the most thoughtful of the marauders, he was always one step ahead, thinking things through meticulously while James and Sirius acted in the moment and purely on instinct and Peter always lagged a bit behind.

"Moony, you can't believe this!" Sirius's face was now flushed with anger. The years he had spent in Azkaban destroyed the man he had once been. Albus tried to remember the carefree boy who had left Hogwarts, charming the ladies, playing quidditch, joking with his friends and rarely without a smile on his face… That boy was gone, replaced by a man who had been hardened by his time in Azkaban and turned into a person who couldn't accept that good things could still happen to him. He was a ghost of his former self.

James and Lily would be able to clear his name, Albus realized, if their return was made public. That would be a decision for James and Lily to make once they had recovered more of their memories, specifically the ones about Harry and the war, and after the current situation was explained to them.

It would most likely be safer for them to remain hidden under the name Andrews for now with Death Eaters around every corner and Voldemort targeting Harry Potter. The Potters would be safer if they stayed hidden, but with the opportunity to clear Sirius's name, would they risk their safety for him? They most likely would, if they were still the people they once were.

No matter what they decided, eventually, Sirius would be free and perhaps time would heal him as it had once broken him. "Prongs is _dead!_" The word seemed to ring through the silent room.

"Albus," Remus continued as though he hadn't heard his friend. Albus hadn't expected him to be so quick to believe, but people often surprised him. Remus's life hadn't been exactly easy either. He had spent most of the time after James and Lily's supposed deaths hopping from job to job, place to place, never staying anywhere long enough to make a life for himself or let anyone get close to him. Of course his lycanthropy had taken its toll as well. Albus had expected his reaction to be more like Sirius's- denying that a good thing could still happen to him. "What do they remember?"

"Not a lot so far but-"

"Then why are you so certain it's them?" Emmeline said it before Remus could.

If Lily Evans had been the James Potter of their group, Emmeline might have been the Sirius Black, wild and spirited. If he recalled correctly, she and Sirius had dated on and off a bit during school, though he wasn't sure if they had at all after. Now, their relationship was tense and awkward at best, it didn't seem like they had shared more than a few words since the Order had been reinstated.

Her life had turned out to be more like Remus's, lonely. She, like many others in her year, had studied to be an auror and fought in the last war. Now, she still worked in the Auror Department, but she was on the bureaucratic side of things. She was well-liked but seemed to keep people at arm's length. Like Remus, she had lived all these years believing two of her best friends to be dead and the other, worse than dead.

Lily and Emmeline had close with two other girls in their year in Gryffindor; the four of them formed a group akin to the marauders, though more rule-abiding. Marlene McKinnon had been tall and blond though quieter and calmer than Emmeline, and very skilled at charms. She had studied to be a healer after school, and she had been an excellent one at that. Her skills had been invaluable to the Order. She was killed by Death Eaters a short time before Lily and James's supposed death.

Then, there was Alice Price who had been a quiet and awkward girl who had evolved into a kind and courageous young woman. She had trained to become an auror and married Frank Longbottom just out of school. They were both in St. Mungo's now, as they would remain, most likely, for the rest of their lives.

Albus studied Emmeline, Remus and Sirius in turn over his half moon glasses; he didn't dare look at Severus yet. "Their memories will not return instantly, it will be quite a process and will require a lot of work and effort. I doubt they would have even remembered anything had Minerva not arrived; they might have gone the rest of their lives not knowing who they really were, living as muggles...

"Their memories require a great deal of prompting- for example, they didn't ask about any of you or remember any of you because we didn't mention you, but because they recognized Minerva, James and Lily began to recall memories of her and her class. It will be the same, when they meet you again and they'll start to remember more with your help. I will also speak to Severus later about a potion to help restore their memories."

Severus did not appear to have heard him. His eyes were fixed on the table, wide and unblinking. His face was paler than usual and set in shock rather than portraying his usual air of detachment at Order meetings.

There was silence for a long moment. "And what about Harry?" Sirius asked quietly, "Do they remember him? And for that matter, what do you think this will do to him when you tell him his parents have been alive all these years? And when we eventually, inevitably find out they're not really James and Lily, then what?" There was anger in his voice, but it was of a protective nature, his first priority was to protect Harry.

"They aren't Death Eaters," Mad-Eye Moody's gruff voice silenced everyone's speculative whispers. "They are James and Lily Potter." Sirius, Remus and Emmeline watched him blankly, as though they were waiting for him to take it back. If the notoriously paranoid wizard believed it, could it really be true? They wouldn't let themselves get their hopes up just to be crushed again.

"I had considered approaching the subject of Harry with them today," Albus continued, "But because of the delicacy of the situation and the shock they sustained today, I thought it might be better not to. I think it would be best if they had a bit of rest and perhaps three old friends to help explain things. I told them I would come back around ten tomorrow morning; I think they'd appreciate it if all three of you came."

"I'll go," Sirius said, "If only to prove you wrong." There was determination shining in his eyes.

"I'll go too," Remus resigned.

"And me," Emmeline agreed.

"And what about Harry?" Molly Weasley spoke up. The red-haired witch had been a sort of surrogate mother to Harry, she was protective of him and cared deeply for him, she would not want to see him hurt by this.

"Everything will be explained to Harry when he is brought here next week," Albus replied. "And on that note, I will need volunteers for an Advance Guard to retrieve him…"

* * *

The three of them remained in the kitchen after the meeting had ended with a bottle of fire whiskey between them. "Do you think it could really be them?" Emmeline's voice was soft, she asked the question that all three of them been thinking but didn't dare voice.

"I don't know, Em," Remus's voice was gentle but Sirius scowled and took another gulp of the liqueur.

"Suppose they did survive, somehow…" She trailed off. "I wish I had paid more attention to that damn protective ritual she talked about."

"What ritual?" Remus couldn't recall anything about a ritual, James hadn't mentioned it to him, nor had Lily, he would have remembered that.

"The one for Harry, to protect him." Remus stared at her, Sirius took another large sip of his fire whiskey and Emmeline followed the suit. "I kept telling her she was crazy and there was no way it would work- the book she found it in was over a thousand years old, she had to translate it. She only spoke to me about it that once, I reacted badly, I think, I didn't like the idea of my best friend sacrificing herself, so she never brought it up again. She may have spoken to Alice about it at the time…"

Remus considered this, "So you think the ritual prevented them from dying as well as Harry?"

Emmeline shrugged, "I don't know. They wouldn't have gone through all that effort- they died for him, for Merlin's sake- just to leave him in the end, would they?"

"No," Remus said definitely, "They wouldn't have left him if they had the choice."

"So maybe they didn't have a choice," Emmeline concluded. "Someone could have easily wiped their memories and dumped them in the middle of nowhere to let them live out their lives as muggles."

"That is, _if_ we're operating under the assumption that James and Lily were the first _and_ second people to do the impossible and survive the killing curse, making Harry was the _third_ person to survive it, then yes, I suppose so," Sirius spoke finally, with an incredulous and sardonic tone. "They are dead. They have been dead for fourteen years. Neither of you are doing any good by pretending otherwise." He stood abruptly, "I'm going to bed. I suggest you two do the same. We all have a long day of being tortured and killed by Death Eaters ahead of us tomorrow after we walk right into this trap, so we'll need our rest. Good night." And with that, he left Emmeline and Remus alone in the kitchen in silence.

"More fire whiskey?" Emmeline asked finally.

"Please."

* * *

Thanks for reading, everyone! You guys are seriously the best. I have started chapter five and it looks like it's going to be a long one but I'll get it done as quickly as I can- let me know what you think about this chapter, reviews are really motivating for me! Also, what do you guys think about Emmeline?


	5. Chapter 5

Hello lovely readers! I had a slightly less busy week and somehow managed to crank this chapter out. This one is literally longer than the first four chapters combined. I'm not really sure how I managed to write that much but apparently it happened! I almost made it two chapters but didn't because A) I didn't want to do that to you guys and B) I didn't know where to break it off.

Anyways, I've been working quite hard on this story this week, I think you guys would be proud of me- I did something I've never done before and actually outlined which was actually quite helpful. I figured out generally where I want the story to go (and I'm really excited about it!) and I also outlined story lines of the main characters. So from now on I won't be writing blindly. Hooray!

Another huge thank you to everyone who reviewed and to everyone who gave me feedback on Emmeline, which was all pretty positive. I like Emmeline and I want you guys to like her as well and after all these positive reviews, I really don't want to disappoint you guys! Anyways- Chapter 5!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

It was nine-fifty-eight and Lily could not keep still. She had made tea, gotten out tea cups, arranged biscuits neatly on a plate, fluffed all the pillows, dusted… She was quite certain she was going out of her mind. Whoever these old friends were, they would be happy to see them again, right? Yet, she wasn't sure. There was a massive piece of the puzzle she was missing and she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Nine-fifty-nine.

She wondered who Albus would bring with him. Amelia had recounted everything to her parents that Tonks had told her about Hogwarts. Some things stirred memories of her school days, images of a huge magical castle, warm and happy feelings, but nothing particularly vivid. Yet.

However, some of the other things Amelia recounted didn't sound right at all. Surely they didn't expect eleven-year-olds to battle a mountain troll to be placed in one of the four houses. She couldn't remember how she had been placed in her house, but she knew she had been in the same one as James- the one with red and gold colors and a lion as the mascot.

James was talking to Amelia now; they had decided it would be best for her to stay in her room during the meeting. The whole situation was confusing to her- they had explained what they could to her last night and they would do the same tonight if the situation warranted it. They might even bring her out to introduce her to everyone today, again, if the situation warranted it. They just had no idea what to expect and didn't want to subject Amelia to that.

Lily had hardly been able to sleep the previous night. She had been kept up by thoughts about everything, replaying the day over and over in her head in attempt to widen the crack in the wall. Her life as Eva suddenly felt so distant, but her life as Lily felt even more so, she wasn't really sure who she was anymore.

She had eventually drifted off into a restless slumber. She dreamt all night of red eyes and a flash of green light and when she had awoken early that morning, she was completely exhausted. A couple cups of coffee later, she was awake, jittery, but awake.

Ten o'clock.

She heard three sharp cracks from outside that she recognized as apparation, she sprang from her seat immediately. "James!" She called as she practically sprinted to the door. Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, she then flung open the door.

Albus was there, as he said he would be but with him he had brought another man and a woman. The man had light brown hair, peppered with gray. Tired lines on his young face aged him beyond his years and a he looked bit pale and sickly at that. His clothes were well-worn, frayed and patched in places.

He had been a friend of hers, though he had been closer to James. He was kind and intelligent, though quieter than his friends and deathly afraid of rejection for some reason. He had a secret, a big secret, but she couldn't remember what it was. She knew the secret had never changed the way she saw him though. With him, he had a large black dog whose head was nearly level with her waist and reminded her of the grimm, but she wasn't frightened of it.

The woman was petite, with dark hair and an oval-shaped, pale face. Well-defined cheekbones, perfectly arched eyebrows, dark eyes and red lips gave her an effortlessly sophisticated look. She was gorgeous, Lily thought, classically beautiful.

She and Lily had been good friends, she remembered. Emmeline. They had been close since day one, laughing and joking and having adventures. She was spirited, always the life of the party and she had been excellent at Arithmancy… But this woman was changed. Her features were grim instead of friendly and welcoming, though now they were fixed in shock. Lily recalled that they had two other friends they had been close with; she wondered why they weren't there. Perhaps Albus simply didn't want to overwhelm them.

"Lily," Remus breathed, Em just stared mutely at her in shock. Remus didn't know what he had expected to find here, but it had not been this. None of them had expected to _actually_ find Lily, alive and healthy, older than she had been but just as beautiful and still… Lily. If this was a trick or a trap, it was a very well-executed one.

Lily couldn't remember this man's name for the life of her, but it didn't matter- James had rejoined them and as he recognized the man on sight, he launched himself at him, shouting, "Moony!" and he embraced him tightly. It was the man's nickname from school, Lily sensed. _Moony's _dog growled protectively and barked at James- he didn't pay the dog much attention though, stroking the creature's head absently.

"You remember me?" Moony asked slowly, a mixture of hope and disbelief painting his face though he still seemed hesitant and unsure. This had to be a trick, right? Lily and James were dead. Yet seeing them with his own eyes… Could it be true?

"Yes! Well, yes and no," James ran his hand through his hair, the way he did when he got nervous, "It's complicated. I remember you as a person, I guess, but the details aren't there." He messed up his hair again. "Come in, mate. Lily made tea." The dog sniffed Lily's hand, wetting it with his nose. Even he was familiar. "Hi," James addressed Emmeline politely; he recognized her but couldn't quite place her, he greeted Albus warmly as well.

Emmeline was still completely silent, following Remus and the dog in, Albus trailed in after her, greeting Lily politely. "Em, you look like you've seen a ghost," Lily joked lightly in attempt to get her friend to loosen up and speak to her. It must be hard for her too, to see these people she had believed to be dead for so long. Lily would also be shocked beyond words in her position.

"I have," she replied. Right. Lily cursed herself for her stupidity; of course she had thought them to be dead, as everyone else had. "You look so much like her…" her eyes, full of tears, searched Lily's face desperately.

"Em, it's me," Lily promised, giving the other woman's hand a gentle squeeze.

Emmeline shook her head, "It can't be. It just can't be." She tore her hand away but doubt was creeping its way in.

"You were my best friend," Lily spoke slowly, willing more memories to come forward. "You were kind, but full of energy, like everything was exciting to you. You played a sport, that sport on the brooms and you were really good too, I thought for sure you would play professionally, but you didn't… You trained to be an auror with us…" It was coming more quickly now, she continued. "And you were head over heels in love with- with someone… I think, maybe one of James's-"

"Okay!" Emmeline exclaimed a little too loudly, then cleared her throat in a way that wasn't subtle in the slightest. Her cheeks were flushed and Lily smiled triumphantly, she had hit the nail right on the head. "You were never supposed to say anything about that," she muttered to Lily, casting glances at James and Remus as though they might tell. Lily could have sworn she even saw her look at the dog for a moment too, and curiously, it seemed as though the dog looked back.

"I do have amnesia, dear," Lily smiled lightly at her friend.

Emmeline smiled a little at that, "You don't know how good it is to see you Lil," she embraced her old friend warmly. "We've missed you so much."

"I missed you too," she felt a little guilty saying the words. It wasn't a lie, exactly. Now that she remembered Emmeline, her heart ached for the years they had spent apart, but was a person with amnesia able to miss a person they didn't remember? Not really. Lily had spent the past fourteen years relatively free of worry and happy, her friends, it appeared, had not had the same luck.

James sat on the couch with Remus, James was spitting out everything he could remember about his old friend and their time at Hogwarts- things about a map, the shack and the word werewolf came up. That had been Remus's secret, Lily realized, he was a werewolf. She had never seen why the wizarding world made such a big deal about it- it didn't change who he really was.

Lily, Emmeline and Albus took their seats with the two old friends and Lily started pouring tea for everyone. The dog kept sniffing at James. Distractedly, James would push him away as he spoke- not in a way that was unkind, but rather annoyed.

The dog was determined though. He held himself up to stand on his back legs with his front paws on James's knees. He seemed to examine James's face, with his nose less than an inch from James's, he sniffed at him. "Merlin, Moony, this dog…" James pushed him away again, the dog growled and barked defensively.

He repeated the action once more, standing on his hind legs, his face close to James's, but this time he growled at him, baring his teeth threateningly. "Sirius, enough!" James finally snapped, standing. The words slipped unconsciously through the crack in the wall. He didn't know where the words were coming from or what they meant as he said them, they just spilled out. "If you want to talk to me, transform already and use your damn words!" The dog backed down and cocked its head curiously.

Then, the dog's body began to elongate, its fur shot back into its body and a moment later, a man was standing there in place of the dog. He was hardly recognizable as James's best friend, Sirius Black, the man who had been his brother in all but blood. His face was prematurely aged, like Remus's, though his was unshaven and gaunt, as though he hadn't been eating or even attempting to take care of himself. If you were to stand James, Remus and Sirius next to each other, Remus and Sirius would appear to be at least ten years older than James.

Sirius was thin too, his clothes that once may have fit him well, hung loosely off his body and James was certain he would have been able to count Sirius's ribs, opposed to the well-built, athletic boy he had known in his youth. There were still traces of the handsome man he had once been in his face, but they were impossible to see if you had never known him as a boy.

"Sirius!" James embraced him, but Sirius stood stiffly, as though he had yet to determine whether or not this man was truly his best friend. "Sirius?" James examined him again at arm's length. "Merlin… What the hell happened to you, Padfoot?" James demanded after the shock had worn off a bit.

_Padfoot._ The teacup Lily had been holding slipped from her hands; the word was like a key to a memory, or a sledge hammer to the crack in the wall, obliterating yet another piece of it. She would reflect later that amnesia was truly a strange thing. Why had that word triggered the memory over everything else? Over all the talk of _that night_ and her sacrifice and the unanswered questions, why had the word _Padfoot_ triggered the memory- the short _string_ of memories? She didn't know, she couldn't begin to understand why, but it just did.

How could she have forgotten?

_"Padfoot," she had said, smiling at the sight of this wild and handsome man cradling the little bundle carefully and lovingly in his arms. She looked at James, who stood next to her, "We were hoping- well, we wanted to ask you, if you would be Harry's godfather?" _

"Harry," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes, she felt everyone's eyes boring into her. She had found it- the giant piece of the puzzle and the gaping hole in her heart. Harry. Her baby boy. "We forgot Harry- how could we have forgotten Harry, James?" She looked to her husband, the color drained from his face. "Sirius, you were his godfather." Pieces were starting to come back together.

_"Sirius Black, how dare you- what in Merlin's name would possess you to give a broomstick to a one-year-old?" _

_"Oh, come on, Lils, he loves it!" _

"You gave Harry a broomstick for his first birthday," she said, dazed, "What kind of a person gives a broomstick to a one-year-old? It was his favorite present though…" Sirius's lips parted in shock, but he just stared at her, unable to respond and hardly able to believe what was happening. She couldn't really be Lily and he couldn't really be James. And yet, when he looked at Lily and her distress, he knew that only a mother's grief could look like this.

Lily pressed on, she was missing something else. The words came to her as though they had been whispered.

_Neither can live while the other survives… _

And then she knew.

_Stand aside, silly girl, stand aside! _

_Take me instead!_

_Avada Kedavra! _

"No," she shook her head at the memory, willing it away, wishing for it not to be true, but it wouldn't disappear. She remembered the flash of green light and it seemed to tint her vision even now. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat and blink the tears away. She opened her mouth, to tell James, but only thing that would come out was a sob. She was hardly aware of James's familiar arms as they wrapped around her, holding her close. "Harry is dead," she sobbed. "Our son is dead and we didn't know."

James felt cold all over, and broken, as though he had been shattered into a million pieces that were impossible to pick up and put back together. He needed to stay strong for Lily. Tears stung at his own eyes, but calmly he put it together, his voice was monotonous, defeated, "He came for Harry- Voldemort, I mean... With the two of us out of the way, he would have killed him." As Lily sobbed louder, James found it more and more difficult to remain strong.

Their happy little boy with James's hair and Lily's eyes, with a smile always on his face, determination in his eyes as he chased the poor cat and an ability to somehow always get himself into and out of tight situations, this little boy, was dead. The child they had created together was dead. He had been dead for fourteen years and they had never known. How could a parent forget their child? Overwhelming tsunamis of guilt flooded his ocean of grief.

"He certainly tried," Remus said almost dryly, though his eyes were kind and sympathetic. He believed them now, that was clear.

"W-what?" James stuttered, looking to his friend for answers. Lily's wet eyes met his, shining with hope.

"Voldemort tried to kill Harry but the curse rebounded," Dumbledore responded instead. "Voldemort was stripped from his body and Harry was left with nothing more than a scar."

"Harry is alive?" Lily was filled with hope at the prospect- her baby, her son, was alive. The child she hadn't seen in fourteen years was alive and well, though he wasn't a baby anymore. Dumbledore nodded simply. "He would be, what? Fifteen now?" When was his birthday? She couldn't even remember her own anymore, but the date July thirty-first came to her suddenly.

"Fifteen as of two days ago," Sirius said slowly. July thirty-first had been right, then.

"We've missed his whole life," Lily said softly, remorsefully, then she was filled with questions. "When can we see him? What's he like, Sirius? What does he like? What is he good at in school? Who are his friends? Does he play that sport?" Sirius looked bewildered, Lily, noticing his look asked, "I mean, you raised him, didn't you? You're his godfather… Or did his godmother raise him? God, I can't remember her name anymore…"

"Marlene," Emmeline said softly, "Her name was Marlene. She died just before you did- well, before that night."

"Oh," Lily said. Marlene. She could remember the blonde girl vaguely, she had been a sweet, quiet thing. "So that means you raised him then, didn't you, Sirius? If everyone thought we were dead…" She looked at him anxiously though something, the way this man had changed these past fourteen years and his guilty expression, told her that he did not raise her son.

"No, Lily," he replied tiredly, grief aging him even more. "I didn't raise Harry."

Her mind was racing, she looked to James for help, but he stared straight forward as though he had already realized what that might mean, Lily knew too, deep down, but refused to accept it. "Then who did?"

"Your sister was your only living relative, Lily… Harry was sent to live with her," Remus said carefully, knowing Petunia's feelings towards her sister.

"No." She shook her head, "We didn't get along, did we?" She answered the question herself, "No… She hated me; she absolutely _despised_ me- why would you let my son go to her? Why didn't you fight for him? You are his godfather." She demanded of Sirius, furious. She was really angry with herself for letting it all happen, Sirius was easier to blame. If they hadn't done whatever it was they had done to get amnesia, she and James would have raised their son.

"Right," Sirius said ironically, his temper getting the better of him. "I should have fought for him. I'm sure they would have let me raise him from bloody Azkaban."

A sort of stillness and tense silence fell over the room. "Azkaban?" Lily parroted weakly, looking as though she had been struck. James's eyes snapped towards his friend, wide with disbelief and horror.

Azkaban was the wizarding prison, Lily recalled, surrounded by those creatures that made you feel cold and hopeless as they sucked away all your happy thoughts.

Her heart raced. No. That wasn't right. It couldn't be right. Why would Sirius have gone to Azkaban? That happy, wild, crazy man, her husband's best friend and her son's godfather- how could he have gone to Azkaban?

Sirius didn't answer, he looked torn. They deserved the truth, yet not like this. He hadn't meant to bring it up as he had and pile on more guilt just after they had remembered Harry. He still hadn't sat down during the time they had been talking so James stood to face him eye to eye.

"Padfoot, why were you in Azkaban?" His voice was calm, but there was panic in his eyes. He knew what Azkaban could do to a person, and seeing the changed man before him, he knew Sirius couldn't have been lying. Only Azkaban could have done that to the Sirius Black he had known.

Sirius recalled the events of fourteen years ago, and the events leading up to that Halloween night, then he laughed dryly, "Merlin, James, do you remember how clever we thought we were?" James stared at him mutely, they had been arrogant, he knew, but he wasn't sure what Sirius was getting at. "_Let's make Peter secret-keeper, no one will ever suspect him…_"

James's stomach turned, he felt again as though he might be sick, Lily shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. How could it have all gone so wrong? Sirius in Azkaban, Harry with the Dursleys, James and Lily without their memories… Was it all because they had been so stupid in their youth? Because they had been so arrogant?

"Then, to play it safe," Sirius continued, "We didn't tell anyone that we had switched. Merlin, we thought we were so smart… Not Albus, not Remus or Emmeline or Frank and Alice… None of them knew- no one but the four of us… We never even _suspected_ that the traitor could have been Peter- the thought never even crossed our minds- the idea was just so laughable. Peter Pettigrew, a Death Eater?"

He paused here, his tone grew more serious. "But he was a rat. He told Voldemort exactly where to find you; he might as well have fired the curses himself. Afterwards, since I was the only person who knew him for the traitor he was, I went after him…"

"Oh, Sirius, you didn't…" Lily covered her mouth with her hands, tears threatening to overflow from her eyes.

Sirius hardly acknowledged her, "I cornered him, but he outsmarted me- _Peter Pettigrew_ outsmarted me... He yelled to a street of people that I had betrayed you, then he cut off his finger, blew up the street and transformed into a rat. Since he was an unregistered animagus and all they could find was his finger so they blamed me for his death and the deaths of the thirteen muggles killed by the explosion and I was sent to Azkaban, without a trial. Really, it was the perfect setup," he added bitterly.

Peter had always been somewhat strategic, he always knew a way out which had been useful for their pranks during school. It just turned out that his way out of the war alive was at the price of Sirius's freedom and Lily and James's deaths. Supposed deaths.

"Without a trial?" James demanded furiously, heat rising in his face, "Without a bloody trial? Whose idea was that?"

Sirius shook his head, then spoke in a way that was eerily calm, "Everyone thought I was your secret keeper. I was a Black. There was no proof in my favor. There were witnesses. That was all they needed."

James processed this for a moment, then hopefully stated, "But you're out now." Had the truth been found out? Was Peter now rotting in a cell? Or had he been kissed? Had Sirius's name been cleared?

"Yeah," Sirius smirked. "Peter had been hiding as a rat all those years, posing as the pet of Ronald Weasley, Harry's best friend… So I transformed into a dog, I was so thin I could fit through the bars in that form then I swam to shore to find Peter."

James was silent for a long moment looking grim, but then a smile spread across his face and he exclaimed, "That's brilliant- I mean, not the Azkaban business, but escaping. You must have been-"

"The first person to ever do it?" Sirius grinned at James, even Remus smiled a little, their idiotic exchange was reminiscent of their days at Hogwarts. "Yeah, I was."

"Brilliant!"Lily and Emmeline shared a familiar look- the one they had often shared throughout the years when James and Sirius were being, well, idiots. However, they had more important matters to discuss. Their son, for instance.

"When can we see Harry?" Lily interjected. James's face dropped, in guilt, but also concern for his son. There was eagerness and curiosity there as well; he wanted to see Harry as much as Lily did.

There was tense silence, "We're bringing Harry to Headquarters in a few days," Remus said slowly. Lily still felt as though she was missing something. "We'll explain everything to him there…"

"What aren't you telling us?" Remus and Sirius shared a look. "Em?" Lily looked to her best friend who avoided her gaze.

"Lily, I haven't seen Harry since he was a baby," Emmeline admitted. How could Harry have grown up without any of his parents' friends around him? Not that Petunia would have let _freaks_ in her home or near her family. "Remus and Sirius know him better." Sirius shot her a look that clearly said _traitor_. None of them wanted to be the ones to tell them whatever it was that needed to be told and incur the wrath of Lily and James.

"Harry hasn't exactly had an easy life," Albus explained finally. "This will be exceedingly difficult for him to accept."

"What do you mean he hasn't had an easy life? Is it because of my sister?" Lily demanded, an angry heat rising in her cheeks.

Albus nodded, "In part. Harry was not raised with love or treated as Petunia's own blood, as I had expected."

Lily's voice was like a whip, "She mistreated my son?"

"Harry doesn't talk about it much," Remus stepped in, knowing a little more about Harry's living conditions at the Dursley's than Dumbledore. "But he was made to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs until he got his Hogwarts letter. Harry once said that the Dursley's tried to squash the magic out of him, when he was a child."

Lily and James looked equally appalled and disgusted by Petunia's treatment of their son. James could only whisper, "A cupboard?"

Remus nodded then continued, "And after his first year, the Weasley's had to break him out- there were bars on his window."

"Bars?" Lily demanded shrilly, "She put _bars_ on my son's window, like he was some common criminal? I will need to have a few words with that woman." The looks on their faces told her that they weren't finished. "What else?"

Dumbledore was quiet for a moment before he responded, "Harry's life wasn't only difficult with the Dursleys. After Voldemort was stripped of his body, Harry was known as the Boy-Who-Lived amongst witches and wizards, for surviving the killing curse. There's not a single person in our world who doesn't know his name. When he came to Hogwarts, instead of being the ordinary boy he thought he was, he was faced with this fame and targeted by Voldemort."

Lily's whole body went cold and dread turned in her stomach, "Voldemort? But I thought you said he was gone- how could he target Harry?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "He was not truly gone, he was only stripped from his body. He has come after Harry in a variety of different forms. During Harry's first year, the Sorcerer's Stone was kept, well-guarded, at Hogwarts. What was left of Voldemort's soul had attached itself to that year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and tried to steal the Stone. Harry and his friends felt that the Stone was threatened and stopped Voldemort from retrieving it- that was the first time Harry encountered Voldemort."

"The _first_ time?" James asked meekly. His son had encountered Voldemort multiple times and he was barely fifteen, the thought alone terrified him. He had of course had the support of his friends, but no family to help him or keep him in line or comfort him.

"Harry is a tough kid," Sirius said firmly, but that didn't make James or Lily feel any better. He shouldn't have to be tough; he should just be a kid.

"That was all in his first year?" Lily asked, receiving affirmative nods, "What about his second year?"

"During Harry's second year, the Chamber of Secrets was opened," Dumbledore explained. James and Lily were horrified all over again, both having heard rumors and stories about the Chamber and the monster within who had killed a girl years before their time at Hogwarts. "The memory of Tom Riddle, preserved in a diary, possessed young Ginevra Weasley, and forced her to open the Chamber of Secrets."

"There was also this bloody house elf, Dobby, who tried to keep Harry safe from it all and keep him away from Hogwarts- he was the one who got Harry in so much trouble with the Dursleys that they put bars on his window," Sirius explained. "The Weasely's broke him out, but Dobby sealed the barrier at Platform nine-and-three-quarters so Ron and Harry couldn't get through. Instead of the train, they took a flying car to Hogwarts."

"And crashed it into the Whomping Willow," Remus added. It wasn't hard to see that both marauders were at least slightly impressed with Harry's actions, though they disproved of how incredibly dangerous it had been.

"A flying car?" Lily demanded, "What in Merlin's name would possess them to do that? And for that matter- why would someone own a flying car?" She glanced at her husband and instead of worry and shock, she saw a bit of pride in his eyes and a smirk on his lips. Of course. Always a marauder.

"Ask Arthur Weasley," Sirius shrugged, "Anyways- I had a flying motorcycle." Lily remembered. He had wanted to take Harry up in it once or twice, she had outright refused. Then the man had given the boy a broomstick…

"And that was equally idiotic," Lily muttered dryly. Sirius only smirked at her. "What happened with the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Many muggle-born students were petrified, and eventually healed," Albus continued, "And Ginevra was taken down to the chamber by Tom as he attempted to drain her life source to restore his body. Harry, Ronald and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that year, Professor Lockhart, went into the Chamber to rescue the girl."

"At least they had the sense to bring a professor," Lily noted approvingly, though she was unsure- what kind of professor allows twelve-year-olds to come with him to the Chamber of Secrets?

Sirius snorted, "The moron tried to _Obliviate_ Harry and Ron, then make a run for it."

Lily's eyes snapped to Dumbledore. "Albus, where in Merlin's name do you find these professors? Honestly, did they all try to kill Harry?"

"No," Remus offered immediately at the same time Sirius said, "Yes." Lily looked between them, waiting for an explanation. "Harry had a rather good professor his third year," Remus said, looking at Sirius, "And he did not _intentionally_ try to kill Harry." Lily raised a curious eyebrow. "We'll get there," Remus assured her.

They turned their attention back to Dumbledore. "Professor Lockhart's _Oblivate_ backfired, striking him instead and collapsing part of the tunnel they were in which separated Ronald and Professor Lockhart from Harry. The only option Harry could see was to go forth alone to find Ginevra. He discovered her unconscious but still alive. Tom set the basilisk on Harry-"

"Basilisk?" James demanded, "There is a _basilisk _in the school?" He was seriously starting to have his doubts about Hogwarts after these stories. Had it been so dangerous when he attended? He didn't think so.

"Was," Sirius corrected. "There _was_ a basilisk at Hogwarts." James blinked, confused, then smiled widely, inferring what that meant. His son had slain a basilisk.

"Still- a basilisk?" He sobered once more. "Does he know how bloody dangerous that was? He could have been killed!" James raved.

"But he wasn't- James, he slew the basilisk with the sword of Godric Gryffindor," Sirius told him, "Then he destroyed the diary and Tom Riddle's memory, saving Ginny."

James considered this for a long moment, "But he could have been killed. He was twelve for Merlin's sake- a twelve-year-old should not have to slay a basilisk."

Harry should have grown up with James and Lily, their friends and his sister. He should have gone to school like any other kid, maybe playing pranks, giving McGonagall grey hairs and playing Quidditch. Although, James didn't doubt that Harry _was_ giving McGonagall grey hairs.

"I know," Sirius tried to comfort. "Harry's not exactly a normal kid though." Regardless, James and Lily could scarcely imagine their baby slaying basilisks and facing dark wizards, the thought alone filled them with worry, fear and guilt.

James and Lily had lost their child when he was no more than a baby, but Harry was not a child any more, Remus reflected, not really. How could they explain to these parents that their baby was no longer a baby, but nearly a man grown? While he was always getting himself into trouble, he could get himself out and he had great friends to support him.

"Do you remember when Harry was a baby, right after he started crawling?" Remus asked his two worrying friends. "There was that time he somehow managed to get himself stuck _under the couch_." The image was still clear in Remus's mind, only Harry's chubby, little baby legs stuck out from under the couch. "Harry wasn't crying like any normal baby would, we were worried sick and about to levitate the couch to get him out of there when he somehow got _himself_ out. Do you remember that?" Lily and James nodded hesitantly. "That's how Harry is. He gets himself into trouble- or as he likes to say, trouble finds him- and then he somehow gets himself out. But he's not alone either, he has a lot of people who care about him and who watch out for him."

"I don't like it," Lily said simply, trying to push away the thought of what might happen if one day he wasn't able to get himself out and no one was there to help.

"I don't either," Remus admitted. "I worry about that kid every day. He has great friends though, they keep him in line, especially that Hermione, she is a piece of work- just a friend though," he added, noticing James and Lily's curious glances.

"Brightest witch of her age," Sirius agreed and after a few beats of silence, he continued on with Harry's story. "After Harry's second year, I escaped Azkaban, the first time I saw him, he was catching the Knight Bus."

"The Knight Bus?" Lily frowned.

"Yeah, the magical bus that takes witches and wizards where they need to go," Remus explained, remembering the amnesia. "Harry had a bout of accidental magic and ran away from the Dursleys."

"What happened?" Lily asked hesitantly. Her sister abhorred everything magical and would no doubt have seized the opportunity to cast her nephew out of the house as she often wished she could have cast Lily out of the house when they were young.

"Do you remember Vernon's sister?" Sirius asked with a lazy smile across his lips that earned him a look of disapproval from Remus. The look Sirius wore was a familiar one, it was the same sort of smirk he had worn during school, it reminded Lily of the boy she had once known, before Voldemort and Azkaban and amnesia.

"Vaguely," Lily nodded, "I think I met her at their wedding…" She was a pig of a woman, the spitting image of Vernon with a significantly smaller mustache (and that was a rather charitable description). She loud and obnoxious and had a great deal of distaste towards Lily, just like her brother and sister-in-law.

"Well, she came for a visit- before Harry's third year- and she started talking badly about the two of you… She said some nasty things in front of Harry and he sort of lost control and blew her up."

Lily blinked. "He blew her up?" she asked, confused, "What do you mean he _blew her up_?"

"I mean, she just sort of inflated and floated right out the door. The ministry had to sort the whole thing out of course, I think they oblivated the lot of them."

"That was a bit irresponsible of him," Lily said with motherly concern, but a smile on her lips gave her away. If only she could have seen Petunia's face as her sister-in-law inflated and floated out of the house.

James on the other hand hooted with laughter shamelessly. "I wish I could have seen that!"

Sirius grinned, "It was brilliant, mate."

"So he ran away and caught the Knight Bus, yeah?" Sirius nodded in response to James's question, "Then what?"

"He met up with the Weasleys and took the train to Hogwarts," Remus continued. "I was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that year."

James grinned, "Were you really? That's brilliant."

Remus smiled at the memory, the marauders had always thought he would make a good teacher. In another life, maybe he would have been able to remain one. "Yeah, it was… Harry and his friends happened to sit in my compartment on the train, though I was sleeping off the aftereffects of a full moon. At some point, the train stopped and dementors were sent aboard to search for the escaped, murdering, deranged convict, Sirius Black." Sirius shot him a glare at his description. "Harry reacted badly to the dementors, falling unconscious while I fended them off with a Patronus.

"Later, when I taught his class about boggarts, Harry's turned into a dementor. After that, I gave him private lessons on producing a patronus and by the end of the year he was able to conjure a corporeal patronus."

Lily's eyes widened, "A corporeal patronus? At thirteen? Merlin, most full-grown wizards can't do that! What form did it take?"

"It was a stag." Lily's heart soared with pride and James smiled so wide it might have split his face in two.

"What else happened? You said something before about not intentionally trying to kill Harry?" Lily's heart sank again when she remembered this information.

"Right," Remus continued. "Well, Sirius finally was able to get his hands on Peter and dragged Ron through the secret passage at the base of the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack. Harry and Hermione went after him of course- I saw them on the map and went after _them_. Peter transformed and we all learned the truth. Sirius and I were ready to kill Wormtail when Harry stopped us, saying that his father wouldn't want his two best friends to become murderers." He glanced at James who gave a non-committal grunt indicating that he didn't care if Peter lived or died, after everything he had put their family through, though it was true that he _didn't_ want his best friends to become murderers. "And if Wormtail was dead, the truth would die with him."

"So, he cleared your name?" James asked Sirius hopefully.

"Not quite," Sirius responded bitterly. "It was the full moon, so there were complications… Remus transformed and while I was trying to keep him away from the kids, Peter escaped. The dementors found us, I was captured and Harry and his friends were taken to the hospital wing. After a complex series of events involving a time turner, Harry and Hermione helped me escape just before I was to receive the dementor's kiss."

Lily was hardly able to wrap her head around this information. Peter had escaped, leaving Sirius to appear guilty. Sirius was almost kissed by a dementor- the only thing Lily could think of that would be worse than a person losing their soul, was the thought of someone as _vivacious_ (not to mention, innocent) as Sirius had been having their soul taken. Then the time turner- where in the world had Harry gotten a time turner? She hoped he realized how dangerous it was to meddle with time.

"And he rode a hippogriff to safety," Remus inserted, Sirius shot him a glare.

"A hippogriff?" James laughed, "Where in Merlin's name did you get a hippogriff?"

"Hagrid," Sirius mumbled.

"Merlin, I wish I could have seen that- Sirius Black riding a bloody hippogriff," James howled with laughed.

"Oh, shut up," Sirius shook his head, his pale face reddened slightly, "Do you want to hear about Harry or not?" James sobered immediately and cleared his throat, possibly to disguise another surfacing laugh. "Last year, Hogwarts hosted the Triwizard Tournament."

"People die in that tournament," Lily looked accusingly at Albus. The Triwizard Tournament hadn't been held in centuries, it was so dangerous. Risking the lives of students- mere children- wasn't worth the competition and bonds formed between schools.

"We took precautions," Albus assured her, "Only students of age were allowed to compete." Lily felt a wave of relief wash over her; Harry wouldn't have been allowed to enter then, he would have been fourteen, three years too young to enter. "However, Barty Crouch Jr. had attacked Alastor Moody, who I had hired as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and used polyjuice potion to take his place."

"Barty Crouch Senior was the head of the DMLE, right?" James asked, confused.

"Yes," Dumbledore inclined his head in affirmation. "But his son was a Death Eater. He entered Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire under a false school because he was able to bypass the age line. Harry was selected, being the only candidate, and forced to compete in the tournament."

"You let him compete?" Lily was enraged. Not only had her son been entered into the dangerous tournament against his will, but he competed with students much older than he, they had the advantage of three additional years of experience.

"The Goblet of Fire is a magically binding object," Albus explained. "I did not want Harry to compete- I was furious when I thought he had entered himself- but there was nothing I could do about it. It could not be undone." Lily and James were silent, both fuming. "He won, if that is any consolation," the old man said as an afterthought, his blue eyes twinkling proudly.

"He won?" Lily asked, pride swelling within her again.

"Crouch _did_ rig it," Remus told her, "He wanted Harry to win, though I have no doubt he could have won on his own. The final task was a maze and at the center of the maze was the Triwizard Cup, but it was a portkey. Harry and the other Hogwarts champion- the Diggory boy- took the cup at the same time and were transported to a graveyard.

"Wormtail killed Diggory, simply for being there, then he used Harry's blood to restore Voldemort to his body. Harry dueled with Voldemort then managed to get the Cup and was transported back to Hogwarts. Crouch was discovered and it was revealed that Voldemort had returned, though the Ministry hasn't been entirely accepting of that."

James' hands were clenched into fists and his jaw was tight. Wormtail had not only betrayed them and left Harry alone, but he had hurt Harry and used his blood to bring back Voldemort. James realized that Wormtail hadn't slipped all those years ago. James and Lily's whereabouts hadn't been coerced or tortured out of him- if that had been the case he would have felt guilty and remorseful. Perhaps he would have lived his life as a rat out of guilt and cowardice. However, he would not have restored Voldemort to his body. Peter had never been their friend, not truly. He had been a loyal follower of Voldemort and there would be no redemption for him.

"Voldemort is back?" James asked finally, his voice was raspy and tired.

"Yes," Dumbledore responded.

"I want to see my son," James demanded simply. Harry- he needed to see Harry. He needed to see his son with his own eyes. His best friends had assured him that his son was safe, but he couldn't believe it until he saw it with his own eyes.

"James," Albus said gently, "As you can imagine, this will be very difficult for Harry. After all the hardships in his life, he will have a very difficult time accepting this and meeting both of you. It would be even more difficult for him to meet you before your memories have been restored. Have patience. Tomorrow we will have a potion ready that should restore your memories completely. Once Harry is brought back to headquarters, we will explain things to him and we can go from there." He hesitated uncertainly, "You will also need to prepare yourselves for the possibility that Harry might not want to see you right away."

James and Lily were silent, crushed from disappointment, the idea of Harry not wanting to see them hadn't occurred to them. They wanted what was best for their son, of course, and they did not want to cause him additional distress. They needed to put him first, put his needs above their selfish need to see him. Their friends all knew Harry better than his parents did; they had a better idea of how he would react to seeing his parents. "Oh," was all Lily could muster. "I-I understand, I suppose. It will be quite… quite difficult for him to accept."

"He'll come around, Lily," Sirius assured her with a gentle gaze.

"It's just- he has had such a hard life, experiencing things that no child should ever have to go through and without his parents to help him. The whole time we've been here, safe and happy and ignorant. He'll probably blame us. I would."

"He's very strong," Remus said, "And it hasn't all been bad. He has great friends- Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, she's a muggle-born. They're his best friends- they've been getting into trouble together since their first year."

"And he's in Gryffindor, of course, the three of them are," Sirius continued. Lily felt her heart swell with pride for what felt like the millionth time that day; her son was in the same house as she had been, and James. "He made seeker on the Quidditch team his first year, they say he was the youngest seeker in a century." James beamed at this, having been Quidditch captain during his time at Hogwarts, though Lily shook her head at him, she had never quite been comfortable with a broom, being muggle-born. "Personally, I think his Quidditch talent is due to his early exposure to flying," Sirius boasted.

Lily rolled her eyes but James objected, "More like flawless genes."

Sirius went on as though he hadn't heard, "And he somehow got his hands on the cloak _and _the map." James's eyes lit up, "But you'll have to hear all of his stories from him, I don't want to ruin it, it's all really impressive."

"I hope he'll want to tell us," Lily said meekly. Her fears that her son would reject them kept resurfacing. She just wanted to see him, to hold him now after so long, to be the person he brought his problems to and the person who could quell his fears. But what if he never let her be that person? After everything, what if accepting his parents was just too much? Then there was Amelia… What if he saw her as a replacement child? They would have never willingly left Harry any more than they would have willingly left Amelia.

She just hoped he would understand- they had done everything they could to protect him and to protect their family, but something had gone terribly, terribly wrong. More than anything, Lily wished that she could go back in time and change everything, make it so Harry had grown up with his parents and his sister, happy and loved. She would make it so that Lily and James would have never lost their memories and Sirius would have never gone to Azkaban and Remus and Emmeline would not have been so lonely.

But that was a fairy tale. It was impossible. They couldn't go back, they could only go forward and do their best to fix the mistakes they had made and heal the wounds they could. It would take time, but Lily was determined to mend her family.

Emmeline had never been one for silence. The question had been prodding her all day long and she couldn't hold it in any more. She was simply going to ask. She was going to ask the question they had all thought at some point while being at Lily and James's house. "What do you remember about that night?"

She couldn't stop thinking about the ritual, she had spent the night trying to recall every detail she could, though her mind had been hazy from the fire whiskey and so much time had passed. Lily would remember tomorrow, but she didn't want to have to wait that long, especially if Lily could remember some of it now.

Lily hesitated, the details still weren't there, but the gist of it was, foggy and unclear. "Voldemort came to the house that night and tripped the wards, James told me to take Harry and run and he would hold him off so we could get away… The portkey wouldn't work, we didn't have any floo powder and I couldn't apparate. I was trapped and I could hear James downstairs, fighting and losing for what seemed like ages and then it was quiet." A tear ran down her cheek at the memory. "_He_ came upstairs and told me to stand aside, that I didn't need to die; only Harry did. But I wouldn't back down. Finally, he shot _Avada Kedavra _at me and the next thing I can remember is waking up with James on our way to the hospital."

"I don't remember anything between getting hit with _Avada Kedavra_ and waking up in the field," James summarized. They didn't need to hear about how he had battled Voldemort desperately, hoping that Lily would escape with Harry but as he fought, he heard her upstairs. Trapped.

As the duel wore on, it became more and more evident that James was losing. He cast his curses slower and slower and his shields went up later and later until, just once, he wasn't fast enough and Voldemort disarmed him. Voldemort did not gloat. Killing James had not been his primary objective, just an obstacle. He did not say a single word, just hissed, _"Avada Kedavra!_" Green light had engulfed him, then James had woken up in the field with no memories.

"You mentioned a ritual to me once," Emmeline pressed. Telling her about it might trigger the memory.

Lily tried to chip at the wall, "I remember we did do the ritual…" She said slowly, then bit her lip nervously. "I don't remember how we did it or what it did; just that Harry would be safe- that's the only thing that mattered. Do you think that's how we survived?"

Emmeline looked to Dumbledore for answers, "It's possible," he said, "I never got the chance to look at the ritual in detail and the book was destroyed in the house."

"It was supposed to protect all three of you," Sirius said. The pain and anger he had felt back then burned through him again. He had been so angry with James and Lily and their stupid plan to save Harry and themselves, but it hadn't worked. Harry survived, yes, but when Sirius had found the destroyed house, he had hoped- no, he had _expected_- to find his friends alive. Instead, he had found their corpses and their orphaned son.

"It was some sort of blood ritual, I think, I don't remember the details. It was just supposed to protect you, but chiefly Harry, from _Avada Kedavra_ if you were willing to sacrifice yourselves for Harry and for each other. Apparently, it worked."

It had been a ritual for parents to protect their child, Sirius recalled. Lily had said that the parents were meant to survive, but they had to take a sort of leap of faith first and take a killing curse for their child, otherwise, it wouldn't work. That must be why Harry ended up with a scar, but Lily and James did not. It was completely mad, Sirius had thought, _what if it doesn't work?_ he had asked them. They had been insistent though, saying it was the only way. Sirius couldn't fully understand since he had never been a parent.

"But that still doesn't explain how we ended up without our memories- could that have been a side effect of the ritual?" James asked, furrowing his brow. It didn't make sense. "But then, how did we end up in the middle of nowhere and why were our bodies in the house?"

"Most likely, someone found you in the house, just after Voldemort had been destroyed," Dumbledore explained. "This person most likely would have wiped your memories with an effective _Obliviate_ then apparated you to the field you woke up in. It would be difficult to transfigure something to look like your bodies, but not impossible. The object would only need to hold your appearance for a few days, until after the funeral, so the transformation spell would not have to be particularly powerful." Lily shuddered when she realized that somewhere out there, was a grave marked by a tombstone with her name.

"But who would do that?" James asked.

"We don't know." James tried to press the wall, trying to retrieve the memories that were so long lost, but the only thing he got was a headache. "You will most likely remember once you take the potion tomorrow."

"But, _why_ would someone do that?" Lily demanded. It simply didn't make sense. If they wanted James and Lily to survive, why wouldn't the person have simply taken them to St. Mungo's? They would have been healed then Harry would have grown up with a family. But if the person didn't want them to survive, why not simply kill them? There were ways to kill someone other than _Avada Kedavra_.

"Maybe they thought they were protecting you, from Death Eaters. Perhaps the person hadn't realized that Voldemort had been temporarily destroyed. Maybe they did it to get you out of the way. There's no way to know for sure unless we find the person who did it."

The potion was their only hope, if they could remember who wiped their memories, they could find out their motive. The thought of the potion and having her memories restored filled Lily with hope and excitement, this had been a prospect they had only been able to dream of for years. A lot of things had come back, memories from school, her friends, James's friends, but a lot of the details were missing and so were huge chunks of her life. What had happened between her and her sister? What had her life been like before Hogwarts? Nothing so far had triggered any vivid memories of her childhood. And what about this blood ritual she could scarcely remember? She needed answers but tomorrow she would know all of it.

And getting her memories back would bring her one step closer to Harry.

Movement in the corner of Lily's eye caught her attention. Her daughter was peering around the corner cautiously. "Amelia, what are you doing?" Hopefully she hadn't been listening in, though most of their discussion wouldn't have made sense to her anyways.

"I just got hungry," her eyes wandered across the people sitting in the living room, Sirius, Remus and Emmeline stared at her in shock, apparently having forgotten that all of this started when Lily and James's daughter got her Hogwarts letter.

"I suppose it is about lunch time, I'll make some sandwiches," Lily stood but waved Amelia over, "Come meet everyone, sweetheart." The little girl came to stand by her mother who wrapped an arm around her shoulders, sensing her daughter's uneasiness. "This is Sirius, Remus, Emmeline and of course Professor Dumbledore who you met yesterday. And this, everyone, is Amelia."

"Merlin, Lily, she looks just like you," Em said, examining the girl. Upon closer examination, Amelia wasn't exactly the spitting image of Lily at eleven, Jame's looks were present in her eyes, her nose, and she could easily imagine this little girl's lips curling into a mischievous smirk, the way James's often did when they had been in school. However, many of her features favored Lily strongly as did her long red hair that had a bit of a curl to it and the little girl's overabundance of freckles.

"She does, doesn't she?" Lily smiled down at her daughter. "Anyways, I'll go make those sandwiches."

"So, you're eleven?" Remus asked the girl while Lily worked in the kitchen. Amelia nodded shyly. "Are you excited for Hogwarts?"

This sparked her attention, "Yes! Tonks told me all about it yesterday, my mum and dad too- what they could remember," she said the last piece a little awkwardly.

"Which house do you want to be in?" Emmeline asked, trying to ease the girl's obvious discomfort.

"Well," the little girl said slowly, hesitantly almost, "Tonks told me yesterday that Hufflepuff is the only one worth anything."

Sirius snorted but Remus laughed, "She would say that, wouldn't she?"

"Will I really have to fight a mountain troll?" Now Sirius laughed loudly, Remus, Emmeline and James seemed amused while Albus was simply appalled.

Sirius muttered, "Not unless you take after your brother," Amelia didn't appear to hear, but he earned a curious look from James.

"Did she really tell you that you would have to fight a mountain troll?" Remus shook his head, bemused, "Merlin- that woman… You definitely will not have to fight a mountain troll. There's this hat that can see inside your head and it tells you where you belong."

"Oh," the prospect wasn't exactly more reassuring- a hat that could see inside your head was, well, creepy, to say the least. "Which houses were you in?"

"Gryffindor," they all chorused.

"But you can go wherever you want to," Emmeline assured her, "The hat takes your choice into consideration and all the houses are good."

"Except Slytherin," Sirius muttered, Amelia looked at him this time. "Slytherin's don't like your b- family. They'll probably give you a hard time."

"Sirius don't scare her," Emmeline warned. "They aren't all bad," she tried to reassure the eleven-year-old, though she didn't seem entirely convinced herself.

"Why?" Amelia asked, ignoring Emmeline, "They don't even know me."

"Just… Just trust me," Sirius said, his entire family had been Slytherins after all.

"James, could you come help me a minute?" James went to the kitchen to help Lily, leaving Amelia with the others.

"So," Amelia's tone changed suddenly, she spoke in a hushed voice, so her parents wouldn't overhear, "When do I get to meet Harry?"

Sirius's laugh was like a bark, "You really do have marauder blood in you, don't you?"

"How much did you hear?" Remus asked, shooting Sirius a glare.

"Most of it," she said innocently. Remus hoped to Merlin that the Weasley twins would not take her under their wing, Hogwarts would never recover.

"Well, I'm sure you'll meet Harry when your parents do," Emmeline responded and Amelia simply nodded. "This must be really strange for you- finding out about magic and your parents and Harry."

"Yeah," she said, looking down at her hands folded in her lap, "I'm just confused mostly."

"It'll get better," Remus assured her. "Once this blows over a bit and Harry meets your parents and the shock of everything has worn off- it'll get better."

"And Hogwarts is incredible. It's truly amazing. You'll love it, everyone does," Emmeline added.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Emmeline smiled.

"Sandwiches!" James said, setting down a tray, reclaiming his place on the couch and taking a bite of a sandwich. "So what were you lot talking about?" Lily joined them with plates and napkins.

"Hogwarts," Amelia half lied. They had _mostly_ talked about Hogwarts. "I wanted to hear about when you were in school." This girl really was half marauder.

"Ah, well you'll have to ask me about it tomorrow- they're bringing us a potion to restore our memories."

"Really?" Amelia feigned surprise well, Remus mused.

"Well," Sirius interjected, "There's nothing wrong with the rest of our heads-"

James cut him off, "Debatable."

"Oi- so _we_ all remember our years at Hogwarts and have more than a few stories… For example, there was this time in our third year…" He continued with the story of the elaborate prank they had pulled which had turned all the Slytherins red and gold for the much anticipated Slytherin-Gryffindor Quidditch match and how afterwards, they had talked their way out of detention. This catapulted Remus into another story about pranking and mischief and Emmeline into another.

Eventually, Lily and James retold their side of the past fourteen years deciding that their friends were putting too many bad ideas into their daughter's head. As Albus had already heard these stories, he left them briefly to set wards around the house. With Voldemort and his Death Eaters on the loose, they couldn't be too careful. He couldn't imagine the disaster if Voldemort found the Potters.

James had just begun explaining the previous morning, when Amelia had received her Hogwarts letter, when Albus rejoined them, a letter of his own in his hand that an owl must have delivered while they had been speaking. "I'm sorry, James, Lily, but we must leave."

"What's wrong- what happened?" James asked. His son. He knew it right away, his son was in trouble.

"It's Harry," Lily's body went cold with fear. She clutched James's hand, "He and his cousin were attacked by dementors near their house, Harry used a patronus to defend them but it was underage magic- the ministry has decided to expel him and destroy his wand."

Panic seized her. "Is he safe?" Lily asked frantically. Dementors. What in the world were dementors doing in a _muggle_ neighborhood? She knew the answer instantly. Voldemort.

"Yes, he is unharmed, but we need to sort this out immediately."

"By all means, go," Lily urged. "Please, let us know what happens as soon as you can."

"Of course, we'll be back tomorrow, around the same time, I should think and with the potion." Lily nodded, they made hasty goodbyes and the four of them apparated back to headquarters, where ever that was.

Lily and James waited anxiously for news and used Amelia as a distraction. They explained everything they could to her; from Harry to Voldemort- keeping her in the dark would only put her in danger and confuse her further. Little did they know, she had overheard everything, though she hadn't understood half of it. It was only a couple hours later when an owl flew through an open window with a letter. Lily opened it anxiously and with shaking hands.

_He is safe and has not been expelled. His trial will be on August 12._

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Phew! So there it is! I hope you guys enjoyed it- any feedback is greatly appreciated, so let me know what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

As always, a huge thank you to my reviewers- you guys are really awesome. All the feedback I've been getting has been really, really helpful in developing the characters and storyline, so keep it coming! The only issue is that I want to keep writing and not go back and edit anything. The struggle is real. Anways, here is chapter 6!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

Lily could not remember Severus Snape, in fact, she remembered very little about her childhood. Of course, so far there hadn't really been anyone to _trigger_ memories of it yet. However, she _did_ remember that she had a childhood friend- a best friend- before she came to Hogwarts and that he had been the one to tell her that she was a witch. They had been very close, then at Hogwarts they had started to grow apart, then something had severed their friendship entirely. Lily remembered this much, but she did not remember Severus Snape.

She did not remember his natural talent in Potions or Defense Against the Dark Arts. She did not remember his lank greasy hair. Or the way he had once been able to make her laugh. Or how he had once known all of her secrets. She did not remember the way he scribbled notes in the margins of his books, writing as small as possible to cram in as much information as he could. She couldn't even remember which house he had been sorted into. These were the sort of details that just weren't there.

James could not remember Severus Snape either. However, he did remember that there had been a boy, one specific boy, whom he had teased and tormented in his youth. He had humiliated this specific boy on several occasions, though he couldn't remember why. Most of the time, he recalled, he hadn't even been provoked, he would bully this boy simply for being there and because he could. The thought of it made his stomach turn with shame.

For these reasons, Lily and James were both shocked silent when they found Severus Snape on their doorstep. He was accompanied by Albus, Sirius, Remus and Emmeline.

James about panicked. He and Sniv- Snape had never reconciled, he had never apologized and Snape had never granted him forgiveness. During school, James had matured and grown out of being a bully, but he could never really face his shame of humiliating Snape over and over like that. He couldn't believe that after all these years, that man was standing on his doorstep.

Lily, on the other hand, was beyond ecstatic- this man had been her childhood best friend. He had been there for her before Hogwarts, teaching her about magic and when her and her sister's relationship began to deteriorate, he had been her shoulder to cry on. But that was all she could remember about him. She could hardly believe that after all these years this man was standing on her doorstep.

James had expected to see Snape's black eyes glowering at him, but instead, they were fixed on Lily. Instead of hard or angry or hateful, his eyes were soft, disbelieving, compassionate and broken. Lily's eyes met his with kindness, "Sev," she smiled warmly, not yet remembering the day he uttered the unforgivable word.

"Lily," he nodded curtly. "Potter," he spat the name with the disdain he often used with Harry.

"Snape," he returned the greeting. "Come in," he probably didn't sound quite as welcoming as he should have but coldness was the only defense he knew when facing his own shame.

The air was tense as they entered the living room where Amelia was waiting, kicking her legs nervously. Snape stiffened when he saw her, "Your daughter?" he asked.

"Yes," Lily smiled again, "This is Amelia, Amelia, this is Severus."

"Professor Snape," he corrected frigidly. He examined his future student critically, hoping that she would not take after her brother or her father. She looked remarkably like her mother; hopefully she would resemble her in other ways too.

"_Professor_ Snape?" Suddenly it clicked, Albus had told them the Potions Master would be preparing the memory potion, but James had thought the person preparing it would have at least _liked_ him. James desperately hoped that Snape hadn't poisoned the potion.

"Yes, _Potter_- Professor Snape." James shot Remus and Sirius a glare, they both avoided his gaze, acutely aware that this was something they should have warned James about. For years, his nemesis had taught his son. Poor Harry…

"Sit down, everyone," Lily said, a little too loudly in attempt to diffuse the tension. "I made tea- Sev, I can get some lemon, if you'd like." He took his tea with lemon, she remembered suddenly.

"That won't be necessary," he said coolly, sitting. He disguised his surprise that she remembered such a minute thing.

"How's Harry?" Lily asked Albus. The only thing they had been told was that he was going to be tried in court.

"He is secure," was all Albus had to say on the matter. Lily couldn't help but feel a spark of anger towards him, she wanted details. How had the dementors gotten to Harry in the first place? Shouldn't he have been protected? "The potion is ready," he said, looking meaningfully to Snape.

Severus pulled two vials out of a pocket in his robe. Each was filled with a strange purple liquid. "This is the potion that will restore your memories. It will render you unconscious and release memories that are hidden. When you have recovered the memories, you will wake up."

"How long will it take?" Lily asked.

"You have twenty-one years' worth of memories to remember. It will take a while."

Lily's brow furrowed, "Are we talking hours? Days? How long is a while?"

"Hours, most likely- several hours. A day at most," he said after thinking on it. He held the vials to James and Lily, which they accepted.

"And it isn't poison?" James joked nervously, uncapping the vial and looking critically at it, as though that might help him discern an answer. Snape only stared coldly at him which was not particularly comforting. "Right then. Cheers," he clinked his vial to Lily's.

"Cheers," and together they drained the vials. James sat back on the couch, his eyelids closed and his head fell forward. Lily's eyelids felt heavy, she leaned her head on her husband's shoulder and let sleep take her.

_"Lily!" a voice called to her. The long face of a blonde little girl who couldn't have been more than six or seven, hovered above hers, "It's snowing- it's actually snowing!" Lily sprang up and ran to the window- it _was_ snowing! Fat flakes fell thickly and had covered the ground in a few inches already. She grinned at her sister. "Go change and I'll meet you outside!" _

_She threw on warm clothes, slipped on some boots and started out the door, "Lily- put on a hat!" her mother warned. Sighing, she obeyed, then ran outside into the freezing snow- it was wonderful. She grinned up at the sky, letting snowflakes melt on her cheeks and stick to her hair. _

_A hard, cold snowball hit her arm suddenly; she spun around to see Petunia sticking her tongue out at her. "I'll get you!" She quickly made her own snowball and hurled it towards her sister. It soared through the air and struck her and the war began. Sometimes the snowballs hit their mark, sometimes they missed. When they got tired, they took a break to make snow angels then built snow forts and the war was on again. _

_When they were panting and wet from snow and not even sure who had won the fight, Lily grinned widely at her sister, "Tuney! Do you want to build a snowman?" _

"So, how long will this take?" This was not quite as exciting as yesterday. Yes, of course she was happy that her parents were regaining their memories, but between the adults' awkward small talk and tense silences, Amelia was bored out of her mind.

"I don't know," Professor Snape said emotionlessly. She sighed.

"Can I go outside and play in the woods or something?" she asked Remus, he was nice. Sirius was a little frightening.

"Erm-" was his response. She batted her eyelashes and pouted, "What would your parents say?"

"They would say yes," she said quickly, maybe too quickly. She really _was_ allowed in the woods as long as she didn't wander too far. Sitting cooped up in here was just so boring. She liked to keep busy, her mum said she got that from her dad, he was always restless, she said.

"I don't know…" He considered it, "I don't think your parents would like to wake up with you gone."

She slumped back against the couch again, "Fine," the word was a sigh. She should have asked Emmeline. Or Sirius. He was frightening, but he didn't seem strict- he probably would haves said yes.

At that moment the phone rang loudly, most of the adults jumped.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Sirius demanded, looking around wildly for the source of the noise.

Amelia raised an eyebrow, "The telephone…" As she went to answer it, she heard Remus explaining to Sirius what it was exactly that a telephone did. Amelia shook her head, wizards must not need telephones. She remembered all the stories her mum told about her dad's amnesia- how he hadn't known how to change a light bulb or work a toaster; they just thought his amnesia was different from hers but really was because he was a wizard raised by wizards while her mum had been muggle-born. He had never known any of those things. Amelia assumed that all, or at least most, wizards were clueless about muggle things.

She picked up the headset, "Hello?"

"Amelia? This is Captain Wallace from the Police Department… Is your dad there?" Oh Merlin- wait, _Merlin_? When did she start saying that- let alone thinking it? Had she just picked it up these past couple days? Apparently so… If she was a witch, she might as well start acting like one…

It was Monday, she realized, her dad should be at work, he must have forgotten to call in and they wouldn't be able to wake him up now… "Erm…" Should she tell the truth? It wasn't a secret that her parents had amnesia, the whole town knew, but how would she explain that he wasn't able to come to the phone? She would have to lie.

"Did he forget to call in sick?" she asked innocently. "He's had the flu _all_ weekend- he's been positively _miserable_. Mum says he was up all night, sick to his stomach and he only just now fell asleep. I can wake him for you, I suppose…"

"No, no, that won't be necessary. Just tell him I called, okay? I hope he feels better soon."

"Thank you!" she hung up. When she turned around they were all looking at her- Sirius was beaming, Remus and Emmeline simply looked curious, Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and Sev- Professor Snape scowled.

"Hogwarts better watch out, this girl is a marauder through and through," Sirius said and Amelia couldn't help but beam proudly back at him. Whatever a marauder was.

_James sat on the Hogwarts Express, joking lightly with his new friend, Sirius. As he relived the memory, the differences between young Sirius and post-Azkaban Sirius became more evident. Eleven-year-old Sirius had a lazy grin on his lips and a carefree air about him. James's heart sank when he remembered the man this boy would become- he needed to help Sirius, to do whatever it would take to clear his name and he would do it quickly. Sirius had suffered enough on his account. _

_He let himself relive the memory- the red-haired girl who sat across from them sniffled quietly and the greasy-haired boy next to her tried to comfort her. He knew them immediately as Lily and Snape. "We're off to Hogwarts!" the boy exclaimed, grinning at her, she nodded and managed a small smile. He hadn't noticed until that moment that her eyes were an alarmingly vivid shade of green. Like emeralds. "You'd better be in Slytherin," the greasy-haired boy told the girl. _

_James couldn't stop himself, "Slytherin?" They both looked at him. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he addressed Sirius. _

_"My whole family have been in Slytherin." _

_"Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!" Maybe he would have to find a new best friend…_

_"Maybe I'll break the tradition," Sirius grinned and James was relieved. "Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?" _

_James cracked a smile and lifted an invisible sword dramatically, "'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad." The greasy haired boy made a noise, James rounded on him, eyes narrowing, "Got a problem with that?" _

_"No," he sneered, "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-" _

_"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius retorted, the two boys roared with laughter. James's eyes flicked to the girl, expecting to see her crack a smile or to even laugh, but she just stared at him disdainfully. _

_"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment," she said evenly, her eyes fixed distastefully on James as she spoke. _

_When embarrassment started to creep into his cheeks, he began to imitate the girl's voice, Sirius joined in, "Ooooo…" And he stuck out his foot to try to trip the boy on his way out. _

Her conversation with Remus had died out. It had been a long conversation, mind you, but it had sort of died. They talked about books and the subjects at Hogwarts, she had inquired in depth about transfiguration. If she was anything like her father, Remus told her, she would be good at it.

She had talked to Emmeline as well. She told her about the Gryffindor tower, Quidditch and the extensive grounds of Hogwarts, including the forbidden forest full of dark creatures but also unicorns and other things like centaurs. Emmeline talked a little bit about how Lily was in school too.

Amelia had even mustered up the courage to speak to Sirius, he talked about her dad and pranks they pulled which had given her several ideas… She decided she liked Sirius after that. He wasn't as frightening as she had originally thought.

Dumbledore had long since left, he had some sort of business at the Ministry about the school or at the school about the Ministry, Amelia hadn't paid much attention. She had wanted to talk to him too, he was old and probably interesting, but she had her doubts about him as well. She wasn't sure what sort of person would let a child face a dark wizard on multiple occasions, a basilisk, a dragon and dementors as well. She couldn't even imagine doing it- how had Harry? Her parents had their doubts about him as well, she had heard them speaking about Harry's safety last night, long after everyone else had left. They seemed to trust Professor Dumbledore completely though, and that was good enough for Amelia.

She examined her next target. He looked as though he was trying very hard to pretend not to be there. He must be bored too, she decided, so she plopped down next to him. "Hi," she said, smiling up at him. He looked down curiously, an eyebrow raised, but didn't say anything. "So, you teach Potions at Hogwarts?"

"Yes," he drawled.

She grinned excitedly, "Do you have my brother in any of your classes? His name is Harry- Harry Potter."

"Yes," he said simply, but even Amelia noticed the disdain in his voice. Their conversation had caught the attention of the other occupants in the room- save James and Lily who were still unconscious.

"What's he like?" She asked him.

"Exactly like his father," Snape responded. "Arrogant-"

"Severus," Emmeline warned sharply. Out of all of them, Severus disliked her the least.

"Why don't you like my dad?" Amelia asked defensively.

"You father is a bully and-"

"Severus!"

He looked at Emmeline for a long moment then returned his gaze to the little girl sitting next to him. His eyes searched her face. There was Potter in it, but she strongly resembled her mother at that age but with _his_ eyes. But she was only a little girl. Severus softened slightly. "Sometimes, people just don't get along."

_"I don't need help from a filthy Mudblood like her!" The words rang in her ears even now, in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. James Potter had humiliated him and he had been furious, but he had said the word and it was unforgivable. It had been the last straw. She had put up with his sneaking around with his creepy Slytherin friends and her friends' incredulous questions, but she wouldn't do it anymore. _

_"I never meant to call you Mudblood it just-" He said the word with such ease, even now._

_"Slipped out?" She didn't pity him anymore. She didn't want to forgive him. She was done with him. "It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends- you see, you don't even deny it! You don't deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?" He opened his mouth but thought better. "I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine." _

_"No- listen, I didn't mean-" _

_"-to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?" She turned her back on him and climbed back through the portrait hole leaving him there alone, gaping and devestated. _

"So, you're Harry's godfather?" Amelia asked Sirius.

"Yeah," he smiled.

"Who is his godmother? Emmeline?" She asked.

"Er- no. His godmother was named Marlene. She passed away a long time ago." Amelia felt a little sad for the brother she didn't know. He hadn't grown up with parents or godparents- just their aunt and uncle who her parents seemed to dislike. Not without reason, she had assumed.

"Why wasn't Emmeline Harry's godmother?" Amelia asked innocently.

"You parents thought that both of us as his godparents would be far too much of a bad influence on Harry," Emmeline grinned wickedly, "So they named Marlene godmother, she was more level-headed. I already had a godson anyways."

"Really? Who?"

"His name is Neville," she said. "His mum, Alice, was a really good friend of mine and Lily's. Neville was born just before Harry was- I expect you'll meet him at Hogwarts."

"Oh," Amelia said lightly, at the way she spoke about Alice, Amelia had to wonder what happened to her. But then she thought it might be better not to ask. "What about you, Remus? Do you have any godchildren?"

He cleared his throat, "Erm, no." Her parents had told her about Remus being a werewolf, having a werewolf godfather would be pretty cool, she thought. Lily and James had spoken with her the previous night. Apparently after they had named Sirius and Marlene as Harry's godparents, they had decided Remus and Emmeline should be godparents if they ever had another child. Since Amelia didn't have any godparents, they asked her how she felt about that. She had agreed immediately, though they hadn't asked Remus and Emmeline yet.

_"Evans!" James ran to catch up with the red-haired girl. "Erm, Lily, I meant Lily." Stupid, he mentally slapped himself. She looked at him calmly and curiously with those spectacular emerald green eyes. "Erm." She raised an amused eyebrow now and he felt embarrassment hot in his cheeks. _

_"James Potter, are you blushing?" She teased him, grinning. Merlin, that smile… _

_"No!" he exclaimed defensively, possibly turning redder as he tried to collect himself. "No," he repeated more calmly this time and mostly to convince himself. Why was this so damn hard? He was Head Boy for Merlin's sake. Top of the class. Quidditch Captain. Illegal animagus. Marauder. He could do this! _

_"Erm," he said inarticulately. He stumbled over the question he had been repeating for years. "Would you like to go to Hogsmede with me?" He spoke very quickly. "This weekend," he clarified awkwardly. _

_"Yes," she said immediately. _

_"Wait- what?" _

_Well that was a different answer- after hundreds of no's over the years, she had actually said yes? _

_There was a sort of amused look in her eyes. "I said yes." _

_"Erm, excellent." He grinned, "Really, really good." _

_She smiled at his awkwardness, "I'll see you in class, James."_

_He watched her as she walked down the hall and turned the corner; once she was out of sight he pumped his fists in the air, "YES!" _

"I have a question," Amelia chewed her lip awkwardly while Remus looked at her expectantly. "So, since my parents couldn't remember their last names, they took the last name Andrews… So I was born Amelia Andrews." She didn't even have a middle name.

Remus nodded, "Right."

"But their last name isn't _really_ Andrews, it's Potter. And so they're probably going to start using their old names again- their _real_ names. Does that mean I have to be Amelia _Potter_ now?"

Remus considered this; it might depend on whether or not Lily and James decided to make their return public. If they didn't, and Amelia Potter showed up to Hogwarts looking a lot like her mother it would be suspicious and invite unwanted questions. "Do you want to be Amelia Potter?"

She thought about it before speaking. "I don't know… It's weird, to find out that your name isn't really your name."

"I can imagine," he said kindly. "How about you stay Amelia Andrews until you feel okay with being Amelia Potter?"

"Okay," she nodded affirmatively. Remus returned her small smile with his own.

_"Lily- run!" James held her hand tightly in his as he dragged her through the streets of Hogesmede. Chaos reigned around them. Death Eaters. In Hogsmede. It was unbelievable and unheard of. In black robes and cloaks, they wore masks and shot curses left and right, Lily and James narrowly avoided several. Students ran everywhere, seemingly aimless. Some were struck down by curses, others fought back. James turned abruptly into an alley, pulling Lily behind him. It was a dead end. "We can hide here." _

_Her heart raced and her eyes stung with tears, she was frightened. For the first time in her life, she truly knew what fear was. But she would not cry, she would keep it together. She was a Gryffindor for Merlin's sake. _

_"Just the two I was looking for." The cold voice stopped her heart. It couldn't be- but as she turned she saw him at the mouth of the alley. Hardly a man, he couldn't be anyone else but Voldemort. _

_They were dead. He would kill them- a Mudblood and a blood traitor. They were going to die. _

_"Mr. Potter and Miss Evans- I want to make you an offer- join me." Wait- what? Lily was a muggle-born- Voldemort detested her kind and Death Eaters murdered them in cold blood. Why would he want her? And James's parents were well-known aurors with a significant amount of influence and they vocally opposed Voldemort. _

_"I could use people like you. Head Boy and Girl, talented in school, well-liked, you both have a great deal of power over your peers. I would make use of your talents, not waste them like the Ministry or that fool, Dumbledore. Join me." He wanted to use their influence and positions to recruit more students and rid the world of muggles and muggle-borns. _

_Lily was sickened beyond words by the offer, but James spoke, "Never! Expelliarmus!" _

_Voldemort deflected the spell, "This offer will not come again, you would be wise to accept it. Join me." _

_"No!" Lily found her voice, she held her wand out in front of her defensively. "We will not." _

_"Suit yourselves," Voldemort said as though it was nothing. "Avada Ke-" There was an explosion from somewhere behind him, James used the distraction to push Lily behind a dumpster. _

_He peered around the corner, "Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" He shot the curses at Voldemort and narrowly missed a jet of green light. Footsteps approached them. They were going to die, she was certain. They were going to die, cowering behind a dumpster. Lily didn't know why that thought occurred to her, but it did, it may have just been her Gryffindor pride. _

_"Come out and play!" Voldemort taunted, James stepped out boldly from behind the dumpster. _

_"James- no!" Lily pleaded, stumbling after him. He tried to push her back. _

_"Expelliarmus!" Voldemort deflected the spell again, a cruel smile was on his lips as he pointed his wand at James._

_"Crucio!" James fell to his hands and knees, still gripping his wand tightly. He clenched his jaw and ground his teeth; collapsing all together he writhed in pain as Lily watched on, horrified and unable to stop it. He did not scream. _

_"Stop it! Stop it, please!" Lily begged. "Expelliarmus!" Voldemort narrowly avoided the spell, in doing so he took the torture curse off James and turned his wand on her. Lily's heart leapt to her throat, but if it would save James…_

_"Tom!" came the sharp voice of Albus Dumbledore. Voldemort turned away from James and Lily to face a more worthy opponent. _

_"James!" Lily dropped to her knees at his side, he made a pained noise. "Are you okay?" She glanced down the alley, Voldemort was gone and Death Eaters were apparating away. _

_"I don't suppose you'll give me another chance?" he groaned. _

_Realizing he would be alright, "You're an idiot!" she hit his arm. _

_"Evans!" _

_"Potter!" she mocked back, livid. "You are an idiot. You are completely idiotic and insane! Do you realize that?" He stared at her mutely, then, as though possessed, she leaned forward and her lips were on his. "You're an idiot," she murmured. _

_"I've heard," he supported his weight on his elbows, leaned forward and kissed her again. _

"I'm _starving_," Sirius proclaimed dramatically, it was nearly eight at night and Lily and James were still unconscious.

"There's a bunch of leftover soup in the fridge," Amelia offered, her stomach had been growling as well.

"Lily cooked it?" the little girl nodded affirmatively, "Excellent. Do you know how long it has been since I've had Lily's cooking?"

"Fourteen years?" Amelia ventured a guess, smiling smugly.

"Touché."

Emmeline stood, "In the fridge, you said?"

The little girl nodded, "I'll help you." While Emmeline sliced bread, Amelia stirred the soup on the stove. "So, what's the deal with Professor Snape?" She asked now that he was out of earshot.

"What do you mean?" Emmeline asked nonchalantly, hoping desperately to change the subject.

"I mean, he doesn't seem to like any of you and he hates my dad. But not my mum," she added.

Emmeline turned to her, "Your mum and Severus were good friends when they were younger but they grew apart at Hogwarts… But your dad and Severus never got along. I think they hated each other from the day they met."

"But why? He called my dad a bully..." The thought of her father being a bully was a devastating one. It couldn't be possible. Snape must have been lying.

Emmeline shrugged, "They were just different. They had different backgrounds and different beliefs and they clashed. James was young and stupid- they all were- I think they all did things they aren't proud of. But they all grew up and grew out of it."

Amelia had never thought of her dad a bully- could it be true? Could it have been so bad that Professor Snape carried his grudge with him even now, twenty years later? Her dad was a good man, a good cop, and extremely well-liked. She couldn't even imagine him bullying someone. He had always been brave and noble.

When Amelia didn't say anything, Emmeline said, "Come on, let's get this soup out there." They ate around the dining room table, talking lightly (except Severus who remained silent). When they had finished, the sat at the table talking for a while longer. Amelia got out some cards and they played for a while and eventually made their way back to the living room with a pot of tea.

_They stood outside the gates he had stood before over a hundred times. The wards prevented them from apparating directly on grounds, so they would have to walk. "Are you ready?" Lily asked him, with a supportive smile. _

_He nodded, pushing open the gate. "It's- it's just, I haven't been back since- since-" he looked at her and she knew what he meant. He hadn't been back to the Potter Manor since his parents' funeral in October. _

_"It'll be okay," she squeezed his hand. He was going to stay at Godric's Hollow with Sirius for the holidays and probably once he graduated from Hogwarts. It didn't feel right to be back without his parents and the manor was simply too big for just one person. He only needed to get a few things he hadn't thought to bring after the funeral._

_"I keep thinking about the bloody house-elves," James admitted. "It's stupid, but I feel so guilty leaving them here alone with no one to look after. I want to free them, but they would be so hurt and they haven't done anything wrong…" _

_"You could ask them what they want," Lily suggested, but she hadn't had much experience around house-elves. The only thing the Potter house-elves wanted was to serve the Potter family. "Or send them to Hogwarts when no one is here." He hadn't thought of that. _

_"That's a good idea, I think I'll do that. I'll still be there for a while- they'll be happy to be able to see me." They walked the rest of the way in silence and when they got there, they stood before the front door for a long minute before James finally mustered up the courage to push it open. _

_It wasn't as he remembered it at all. It was dark and a bit cold, there should be a fire burning in the hearth and his mother should be rounding the corner any moment now to greet them warmly with a kiss on the cheek and big hugs for both him and Lily… He stepped forward, through the threshold. His mother would never welcome him home again. _

_The Manor was immaculate, the house-elves had been keeping it extraordinarily clean with no laundry to do or meals to cook, the only thing they could do was clean._

_"Master James!" a small voice squeaked, an old house-elf stood before him. He had tried to get the house-elves to call him just James, but they outright refused. After a lot of effort, he had finally gotten them to call him Master James instead of Master Potter. "Can Minky get Master James and his lady friend something to eat?" _

_"No, thanks, Mink," James replied solemnly. "We aren't staying for long, though I did want to talk to you… Lily, if you want, you can go to the library. Feel free to take any books you might want." Her eyes lit up, but a moment later, concern overtook them. "I'm fine, I think I'd really rather do this alone." _

_She nodded, "Let me know if you need me." _

_"I will," and she disappeared into the library. "Minky," James started, "I don't think I'm going to come back here for a really long time." The house-elf's ears drooped. "It's not because of you or anything," he said quickly. "I'm just going to stay in Godric's Hollow for a while." _

_"Minky and the house-elves will come with you, Master James!" _

_"No, Mink, it's not really big enough," the house-elf's ears seemed to droop even more. James suddenly felt as though he was breaking up with her. "I don't want you to get bored or anything, so I was thinking it might be a good idea for you all to go work at Hogwarts, until I come back to the Manor." Which at the moment, he wasn't planning on doing at all. "And I'll still be there for the rest of the school year, so I can come visit..." _

_The house elf nodded enthusiastically, "If that is what Master James wants!" _

_"I do." With Minky off to tell the other house-elves, James wandered through his childhood home. He wasn't sure what he wanted to bring with him. There was a photo album of him and his parents from infancy up to the previous summer. He took that without looking at it. In his bedroom, there was nothing he really wanted or needed- he had everything with him at Hogwarts. _

_The door to his parents' bedroom was open. The Ministry had given him a box of his father's things from work and Saint Mungo's gave him a box of their combined things- everything they had with them in the hospital. He hadn't looked in the boxes. After the funeral, he had simply combined them and dumped the box in their bedroom. It still sat there where he had left it on the floor._

_James crouched down next to it and opened the top. It contained all the sort of normal office things you could expect- quills, ink, parchment… He picked up a quill; his father had once held this, written letters to his son while he was at school with it, perhaps. He dropped it back into the box. _

_His father's auror badge was in there too, he held it delicately in his hands. It was gold with a large black "A" on it and on the back, his father's name was engraved. His mother had stopped working years ago, her badge was somewhere in the house… Their wands were in the box too. His mother's ten-and-a-half-inch willow and unicorn hair and his father's eleven-and-a-quarter inch holly and dragon heartstring. He didn't touch those. _

_At the bottom of the box he found his father's watch. Hardly thinking about it, he fastened it around his wrist, just as a reminder. There wasn't anything else in there that was worth looking at, he was about to leave when he saw it- a little jewelry box at the bottom, half hidden behind a piece of parchment. He picked it up and opened it. Inside, gleamed his mother's wedding ring and he knew that someday, he would give it to Lily so he slipped it in his pocket and continued on his way. _

_In the library Lily looked as though Christmas had come early, James couldn't help but smile at her, running around frantically between the rows of shelves. There were two stacks of books on the table, "These are the books I simply must read," she said pointing at the slightly smaller pile of five books, "And these, I'd like to read, but obviously I can't take all of them. And of course, they'd all stay at Godric's Hollow, I would just want to borrow them-"_

_"Lily," he cut her off, "If you want them, they're yours." He certainly wouldn't be reading them. _

_She shook her head, "James I can't do that, these books are _priceless._ This one," she held up a book with yellowing pages, "Was written by Godric Gryffindor's son. And this one," she held up an ancient leather bound book, "Is over a thousand years old and is about blood rituals- do you know how rare these kinds of books are? Most of them were burned centuries ago when-" _

_"Lily," he cut her off again. "I want you to have them, but if you don't want to take them, you can borrow them for as long as you need to and they can stay at Godric's Hollow." She could agree to those terms. "Are you ready?" She nodded, pointed her wand at the books, muttered a shrinking charm then stored them in her pocket. "Let's go." _

"So, what's with the nicknames?" Amelia asked. It was getting late- close to eleven- but she was determined to stay awake. Remus and Sirius kept calling each other _Moony_ and _Padfoot_ and referring to her dad as _Prongs_.

Remus and Sirius exchanged a nervous glance, "Did your dad tell you about Remus's- erm- condition?"

Condition? She had to think on it for a moment, "Oh, you mean that he's a werewolf- I think it's brilliant-"

"It's not," Remus cut her off, his voice wasn't harsh, just tired. "It's very difficult and painful. But when Sirius and your dad and Peter," her parents had told her about Peter, how he had been their friend and eventually betrayed them. She hoped that she would never meet the man. "Found out about me and how hard it was for me, they decided they wanted to help. They became animagi- they can turn into animals."

"Brilliant! So you're Moony because you're a werewolf," she said slowly, "What is my dad?"

"Prongs- he's a stag." Her dad had always liked stags; maybe it was because somewhere, deep down, he remembered that he could turn into one.

"And you?" she turned to Sirius. He smirked and transformed into a big, black, shaggy dog. "Whoa!" She jumped out of her seat and scratched behind his ears, his tail wagged happily. He was definitely bigger than she was, though not taller. When she stopped scratching him, Sirius transformed back into a human. "And my dad becomes a stag?"

They nodded, "He should be able to remember how to when he wakes up…" Amelia could hardly wait.

_"Petunia," Lily greeted her sister awkwardly. She hadn't heard a word from her sister since the disaster during Christmas break. Now she was home from her last year of Hogwarts and off to start auror training in a few weeks. It had been her mother who had written to Lily about her sister's engagement, and her mother who told her that Petunia wanted her to be a bridesmaid. Lily wasn't fooled, if Petunia really wanted her as a bridesmaid, she would have asked her herself. _

_"It's so good to have both of my girls home!" Her mother exclaimed. "I'm going to run out and get some groceries, but I'll be back soon, okay?" _

_"Okay, bye Mum." Lily and Petunia stood silently in the kitchen until they heard their mother's car start and back out of the driveway. "Do you want some tea?" Lily asked her sister, she was always making tea, especially when she was nervous. _

_"No," Petunia said tersely. "You need to tell her."_

_"Tell her what, exactly?" Lily asked calmly, filling the kettle with water. _

_"That you're not going to be a bridesmaid." Lily froze and stared at her sister, wounded. She couldn't swallow the lump in her throat or find words to respond. "I don't care what you tell her- that you have to prepare for- for whatever it is you're doing now that you're out of that- that school- make something up. I don't care. She won't listen to me, but I know if you tell her that you can't do it, she'll listen." _

_"You don't want me to be your bridesmaid," Lily said slowly. Of course she had known this, but she hadn't expected Petunia to kick her out of the wedding party. She had expected her to pretend to tolerate her as she had these past seven years. Once she was married, after all, she would only ever have to see Lily on special occasions._

_"Of course not, Lily! Please, _please_, just do this one thing for me. Please." _

_Lily considered it. It hurt her beyond words that her sister was doing this to her, but maybe if she complied, she and Petunia could start to mend their relationship. It was a naïve hope and a farfetched one at that, but Lily still craved her big sister's love. "Can I bring James?" She wasn't sure if she could get through the whole thing without someone else with her. She could tell James what her sister was doing and he would support her. She wouldn't be able to tell her mother the truth- she would just be hurt and disappointed. She desperately wanted her daughters to be friends as they once were. _

_"As long as he stays away from Vernon- after the catastrophe when they met last Christmas, Vernon most likely wants to strangle him and I will _not_ have that at my wedding." Petunia was very desperate to get Lily out of her wedding if she would allow her to bring James. "And as long as he doesn't do anything abnormal-" Lily narrowed her eyes, "-then yes, he can come." _

_"Okay." Lily said quietly after a moment. "I'll let Mum know tonight, Tuney." _

_"Don't call me that." _

It was past midnight now, Lily and James had been unconscious for more than fourteen hours and their daughter was asleep on Remus's shoulder. "How much longer is this going to take," Sirius groaned impatiently, half asleep himself.

"I don't know, Black," Severus snapped back. "There is a lot they need to remember."

Remus looked at the little girl sleeping on his shoulder, if they weren't careful, they would wake her up. "I'm going to put Amelia in bed," he announced, scooping her up in his arms and going towards her room. She stirred as he tucked her in. A stuffed stag sat on her bed, Remus smiled when he saw it.

"Moony?" he heard her small voice as he crossed the room.

"Yes?"

"Will you wake me up when my parents are awake?"

He gave her a small smile, "Of course, Prongslet." And she closed her eyes once more and let sleep take her. It was then that Remus realized this little girl had all of them wrapped around her finger.

_"Lily, take Harry and run- I'll hold him off!" He shouted at her, they didn't have much time. _

_"No, James-"_

_"Lily! Go! I love you." She gave him one last mournful look and sprinted upstairs, Harry in her arms. He clutched his wand tightly and only then, did he realize Lily's wand still lay on the counter. _

_She wouldn't need it, he told himself, she would get away. She and Harry would be safe. _

_The door crashed down and Voldemort stood before him. James was brave, or perhaps just foolish, "Tom," he said to the man who was there to kill his family. He dodged the jet of green light and shot back curses of his own. He didn't know how long it went on for, minutes, hours, he couldn't tell. Upstairs, he heard something crash to the floor and a chill spread through his body. _

_Lily and Harry weren't gone. _

_"Expelliarmus!" James's wand flew from his hand. He looked from where it was, twenty feet away, back to Voldemort. His lips curled into a cruel smile, "Avada Kedavra!" Green light flooded his vision, the curse struck him in the chest. It didn't hurt, he just felt a coldness spread through his body then everything went black. _

Severus Snape was the only one awake. He outright refused to fall asleep. Black and Vance had fallen asleep first, after the girl, each curled up on opposite ends of the couch. Remus had stayed awake a while longer but had eventually slumped over in the armchair and snored every so often.

Honestly, Severus could have left. He had been asked to come in case something with the potion went wrong, but after seventeen hours, it was beyond unlikely that anything would change until the Potters woke up.

He watched her sleep, her chest rise and fall with each breath, still leaning on Potter's shoulder. He wanted to be there when she woke up, to see her green eyes shine again. He had concluded that Lily hadn't remembered this morning; she hadn't remembered what he had done in the foolish years of his youth- what he had called her in his rage and humiliation. Her eyes had met his with a sort of soft and happy kindness that morning, they way they had when they were children and best friends. During their last two years at Hogwarts, her eyes only met his with cold indifference and he hadn't seen more than a glimpse of her after they graduated. Until today.

And after all these years, he craved her forgiveness. That was it, the only thing he wanted. Perhaps it was too much to ask, but after all this time, he had a second chance.

_The portkey wouldn't work. Lily paced around in panic, Harry clutched tightly to her chest, he whimpered slightly, knowing something was wrong. There was no floo powder upstairs, nor a fireplace, the wards prevented her from apparating and her wand was downstairs. _

_James was fighting. She tried not to think about it but she could hear him, firing curses at Voldemort and she could hear Voldemort firing curses back. _

_Think, think, think. _

_There was nothing she could do but hope that the ritual would work and that it would protect them. She had no doubt that James was willing to die for them and she knew that she was willing to die for Harry. It would work. It had to work._

_She bumped into Harry's dresser, the lamp that sat on top of it tumbled to the floor with a crash. _

_Placing Harry in his crib, she crouched down to face him. He cried silently. "Harry, it will be okay, it will be okay, I promise." There was a crash downstairs then silence. James. "I love you Harry," a tear rolled down her cheek, "I love you, Daddy loves you… Be strong, be brave, okay?" She heard him. Voldemort. _

_"Stand aside," he commanded simply. _

_"Please… No, not Harry." She stood between them. _

_"Stand aside, silly girl, stand aside! You needn't die!" _

_"Not Harry- please, not Harry," she begged, "Take me instead!" _

_He pointed her wand at her, this was it. She pictured her son and her husband, the three of them together, happy and Voldemort-free, the thought almost made her smile. "Avada Kedavra!" The curse struck her and everything went black. _

James Potter awoke in his living room, stiff. He tried to stretch but Lily was still asleep on his shoulder- how long had they been out? Early morning sun streaked through the window and their friends were all asleep. Sirius and Emmeline were each curled up on opposite ends of the couch, Remus was draped over the arm of an arm chair and Snape sat as stiffly as he did when he was conscious, but his eyes were closed.

James remembered everything, from being a small child running around the Potter Manor, being scolded by his parents, to his shameful days as a bully in Hogwarts, to pranking with his best friends, to becoming an animagus, to marrying Lily and to dying. The only thing he did not remember was who had wiped his memory.

Lily began to stir, she sat up and stretched, "How long were we asleep?"

"I don't know, I only just woke up," he said. "It's morning, I'd guess almost a day."

"Hmm… Do you remember everything?"

"Yes, do you?"

She nodded, "Everything except-"

"Who wiped our memories," he finished. She nodded again.

Lily looked at their sleeping friends, "Should we wake them?"

"Nah, let's let them sleep. Merlin knows how long they were up waiting on us. Are you hungry? Because I'm starving…" And with that, the two Potters brewed coffee and started making a Hogwarts-worthy breakfast of pancakes for themselves, their daughter and their sleeping companions. That's how Severus found them upon waking, laughing and joking lightly in the kitchen. Happy.

He was trying to decide whether or not to make it known that he was awake, or to pretend to sleep for a while longer. They were so happy, even though it _was_ Potter, it had been so many years since he had last seen Lily smile… It turned out that it wasn't his decision to make, Lily had noticed him, "Severus, you're awake." Her voice wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm either, merely indifferent. She had remembered, then.

"Yes," he said, standing. "Do you remember everything?"

"Everything except who wiped our memories."

Severus nodded stiffly; whoever had done it might have performed the spell while they were still unconscious. They might never remember. "And how do you feel? Do you have a headache? Or nausea?"

She shook her head, "No, I feel fine." She looked to Potter who nodded in agreement.

"Then my work here is done." He wouldn't burden them any longer.

He turned to leave but she stopped him, "Won't you- won't you stay for breakfast?"

He turned to face her, "I don't think so." He started towards the door once more but she chased after him and blocked the exit.

"I forgive you, you know," she said abruptly, as though the words had spilled out without her control. He stared at her in shock, his heart jumped to his throat. "I forgave you a long time ago for- for what you said and it's been so long now… I just couldn't forgive you for being a Death Eater, but you aren't really one any more, are you?"

"No," he tried to say without his voice shaking, "I'm a spy for Dumbledore."

She nodded, she had probably worked that out herself. "I don't know if we can be friends again, after all this time, but I want to try, so you _must_ stay for breakfast."

With the way she smiled at him, he couldn't say no. "I suppose I could stay for a little while…"

"Excellent," she grinned, "Come on then." So he followed her to the kitchen and sat stiffly at the counter (she insisted that he sit and wouldn't dream of a guest helping them cook) while Lily sliced fruit and Potter flipped pancakes, shooting Severus nervous glances every so often.

When Lily abandoned her fruit slicing duties to change into something that "she hadn't slept in for twenty straight hours" James finally spoke up.

"I remember how I treated you in school," he said, Severus stared at him. While he had assumed Potter had remembered his glory days of tormenting, hexing and bullying, Severus had not expected him to address it. Ever. He never had before. This day was turning out to be full of surprises. "And I'm not proud of it. It was wrong and terrible and- and I just wanted to offer you my sincerest apologies. I'm truly sorry for everything, Severus." It was the first time he had ever called him by his first name, Severus couldn't speak, he just stared wide-eyed at his nemesis in silence. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I want us to be on good terms- or at least civil terms- for Lily's sake."

Severus was stunned by his nemesis's apology. He didn't exactly accept it, after all these years it was too much, but eventually he might be able to. They were both adults. Right now, he could tolerate being on speaking terms with Potter. "For Lily's sake, then." Lily came back and started asking how Harry did in his Potions class (_"His lack of talent in potions rivals that of his father"_) which Potter had for some reason found amusing, for he had laughed.

Emmeline was next to wake up, she stretched and her foot kicked something- _someone_. Her eyes shot open and she saw Sirius Black, curled up on the other end of the couch. "Oh, Merlin!" she scrambled backwards immediately. It had been quite some time since last she woke up next to Sirius Black.

"Em," he groaned, trying desperately to fall back asleep.

"Oh, get up," she whacked him with a pillow. "There's food."

"I don't care," he hugged the pillow tight to his chest.

Laughing, Emmeline said, "Who are you and what have you done with Sirius Black?" He ignored her, though a few minutes later he joined the rest of them in the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of strong, black coffee immediately.

It wasn't hugely surprising when Amelia wandered in soon after, they had been talking loudly, even Severus had relaxed a little. "Do you remember everything now?" she asked hopefully.

"Everything except who wiped our memories."

"Remus was supposed to wake me when you woke up," she pouted, but then noticed that Remus was still asleep himself. "Dad, can you really turn into a stag?" He hadn't attempted it yet, but he didn't see why he wouldn't be able to do it, so he tried. Amelia watched as her father transformed, it only took a moment, and a regal looking stag stood in their kitchen. His antlers stretched high and wide, he nuzzled his daughter with his wet, black nose and she giggled. As he moved, his antlers knocked a photo off the wall and it fell to the floor with a crash.

"James!" Lily scolded, laughing, "This is why wild animals aren't allowed in the house."

James transformed back and mocked offense, Sirius laughed with him, knowing for certain now, that this man really was James Potter- he had seen the stag hundreds of times and he had recognized it the instant he saw it. When Remus finally woke up, they explained to him that James and Lily remembered everything but who had wiped their memories. They were moving to the dining room table to eat, but before they could start Remus revealed two wands that he had kept for fourteen years.

"I've been holding onto these for all those years, I thought maybe eventually I'd give them to Harry or something… But I think they should be returned to their owners." Lily and James took their wands from Remus, grasping them anxiously and they cast their first spells in fourteen years.

"_Lumos,_" James smiled as he filled the room with light.

"_Wingardium Leviosa,_" Lily levitated her plate, feeling the same excitement she had the first time she held her wand all those years ago in Ollivander's shop.

Keeping their wands close, they ate breakfast with their friends. Severus even joined in the conversation at times, though guardedly, but once they were done eating, he left despite Lily's invitation for him to stay. When the conversation started to go quiet, James and Lily exchanged a glance, knowing exactly what the other was thinking.

"Remus, Emmeline," Lily said slowly, "James and I were talking the other night about Amelia and, well, she doesn't have godparents, there was never anyone we really felt was close enough for that. James and I decided a long time ago that if we ever did have another child after Harry, we would want you to be godparents. So, will you, Remus and Emmeline, be Amelia's godparents?"

"Of course!" Emmeline exchanged a wide grin with her goddaughter.

"James, Lily-" Remus started.

"Moony, I know what you're going to say," James cut him off then addressed his daughter. "Amelia do you mind if your godfather is a werewolf?"

The little girl shook her head, her smile never faltered, "Not one bit!"

"But-"

"Moony!"

"Okay," Remus resigned, "I suppose it's settled then." He smiled at Amelia, "I'll be your godfather."

The six of them continued talking long after breakfast was over with; it was only when the phone rang that Amelia remembered the conversation she had had with her father's boss the day before. "It's probably Captain Wallace," she told her dad, panicked, "He called yesterday, I told him you were sick with the flu, you were unconscious, I didn't know what else to say-"

"It's okay," he said calmly, with everything happening, he had nearly forgotten about Jacob Andrews and his job at the police station. "I'll talk to him." He picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"Jacob!" the voice on the other line exclaimed, "I thought you must be dead or something, not calling- it isn't like you. Amelia said you were sick, but I expected to hear _something_. You do know that today is Tuesday, I assume, and that you're supposed to be at work?"

"Yes sir," he answered. It was all so complicated, he couldn't explain it on the phone. "It's all a bit of a mess right now. I'll come in shortly and explain."

"Everything alright, Andrews?"

"Yes sir. I'll be in soon."

"See you soon, Andrews."

James felt numb when he hung up, Jacob Andrews was dead. "What are you going to tell him?" Lily asked softly.

"The truth," everyone shot him an appalled look, "I mean as much as I can. That someone from our past found us and we've started getting our memories back… I'll tell him about Harry, that we need to find him and I'm sure he'll understand."

"We should get out of your way, then," Remus said, standing. When James opened his mouth to protest, Remus cut him off, "No, really, we should. There's an Order meeting tomorrow night, I think Albus wants you to come. We could come pick you up a little before eight?"

"Sounds good," they made their goodbyes and their friends apparated away. Once James had changed, he grabbed his gun and badge. He would need to turn those in. He didn't have anywhere to keep his wand so tentatively, he left it at home but made Amelia swear not to touch it. He kissed Lily goodbye and set off in their little Volkswagon.

It took him fifteen minutes to drive to town and get to work, he could hardly believe that he drove that distance every day; it would be so much faster to simply apparate. He wondered if he could still apparate without splinching himself, it had been so long.

He walked in, nodding to the muggles that had been his coworkers, they almost seemed like strangers now. He knocked before entering the Captain's office. "Andrews," the Captain was an older no-nonsense sort of man. "Sit." James obeyed. "I must say, you're looking better than I expected. Your daughter said you were sicker than a dog."

"Right," he said awkwardly, "I'm really sorry about that. I didn't know she had even spoken to you until this morning. She's been very overwhelmed with everything that's been going on… You know about my and Lily- erm- Eva's amnesia, right?" The Captain nodded hesitantly, "Well someone we knew from before our accident found us and so we've started remembering things from our past."

For a long moment, the Captain was speechless, then he found his voice, "By all means, take the rest of the week off- however long you need until-"

"Sir," James cut him off calmly, "I can't. I have to resign." He laid his gun and badge down on the table. The captain stared at him as though he had been slapped. "I can't come back. Lily and I- we found out that we had a son before our amnesia and before Amelia. We couldn't remember him at all and we-" he broke off, his voice cracking. "He's alive and he's still out there somewhere, we need to find him and- and I don't know. He's fifteen and we both need to focus on finding him and creating a relationship with our son."

The captain considered this, "I understand," his voice was heavy, he didn't exactly want to lose one of his best cops. "I'm happy for you, Jacob-" he stopped suddenly, realizing that this wasn't really his name.

"James," he said with a little smile, "My name is James Potter."

"James," the Captain repeated. "I wish you the best of luck with your son, and if you ever want to come back, there will always be a job here for you."

"Thank you, sir," James stood up and shook the man's hand, this muggle who was entirely unaware that James was a wizard and that somewhere out there was a man, an evil wizard, who hated him simply because he existed, because he was a muggle. James wouldn't be back, he knew, and when he left the police station, he was entirely aware that he was leaving his life as Jacob Andrews behind.

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Thanks for reading and let me know what you think! Did you guys like Amelia? I wanted to use this chapter to sort of bring her to life and develop her a bit more- I don't want her to be just a placeholder character that exists only as the catalyst and maybe to stir up some angst with Harry… And the same goes for Emmeline- I want her to develop on her own a bit. So let me know what you think about them. Also- any guesses as to who _Oblivate_-ed James and Lily?


	7. Chapter 7

You guys have no idea how happy your reviews made me last chapter, I seriously smiled so much. You guys are seriously the best, thank you so much for all your support and feedback and thank you to everyone reading! Aaaaand here is chapter 7!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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Emmeline walked down the same corridor she had walked down a hundred times before; with her she carried a small bouquet of white flowers. She didn't know what kind of flowers they were, though she was certain Lily would have, had she been there. Perhaps Alice would have too… But it didn't matter. She wouldn't know now anyways.

She signed her name on the visitor's log and smiled kindly at the healer who guarded it. The witch unlocked the door to the long-term resident ward and allowed Emmeline entry.

After all these years, she knew every resident in there, there had been a few changes and additions over the years, but even the newest resident had been there for more than two years. It was, in fact, Gilderoy Lockhart who had been the newest addition to the ward. Having read a few of his books before his admission to Saint Mungo's, Emmeline often humored him and had far too many messily autographed photographs of Lockhart in the drawers of her desk. But today, instead of even greeting him, Emmeline gave him a hard, stern look, now that she knew the details of his accident and what he had tried to do to Harry and Ron in the Chamber of Secrets. Honestly, the nerve of the man. But it was not him that she was there to see. She crossed the ward and drew back the curtains to reveal the final two beds.

Frank noticed her arrival immediately; he came straight up to her and greeted her with a big goofy grin on his face. There was always something about that smile and perhaps just the way that Frank held himself even now that reminded her considerably of his son, Neville. "Hello, Frank," she smiled, "How are you today?" He didn't say anything, just kept on grinning, but this was to be expected, neither he nor Alice had spoken a word since the attack.

Frank's hair was white from the curse that had taken his sanity, as was his wife's and they had both grown very thin and fragile, looking as though if you bumped into them, they might shatter. Emmeline remembered her old friend's lovely round face, sincere smiles and shiny brown curls, but the memory of what used to be was too painful to think about as she looked at the person Alice had become.

Emmeline used to be plagued by nightmares of Frank and Alice's attack and sometimes still was. She had still been an active auror at the time and had been one of the responders, but they had arrived too late. After that, she had started working on the political and bureaucratic side of things in the DMLE. She had never wanted to be an auror in the first place, but in those dark days, it seemed necessary. She wanted to survive the war and she had.

For a long time, Emmeline had been the lone survivor of their group. In the span of months, Marlene had been murdered, then Lily, and Alice, her last friend, had been tortured to insanity. At first, she took turns visiting her friends every week. She would lay flowers on Marlene's grave one week, Lily's the next and between Alice and Frank's hospital beds the next. As the years wore on, her visits became steadily less frequent. It had been three months since the last time she had seen Alice.

Remus had a similar cycle, she remembered. His situation had been quite like hers, two friends dead and one worse than dead, though his world had collapsed around him in the span of days not months. How things had changed since then- Peter and James were both alive and Sirius was no longer in Azkaban. Remus would alternate visiting Peter and James's graves, and in the beginning Emmeline and Remus would sometimes visit Lily and James's graves together, but it had been years since they had done that. Not that it was necessary anymore.

Alice sat on her bed, chewing her bubble gum and staring vacantly straight forward, apparently oblivious to Emmeline's arrival. "Hey, Alice," she sat on the edge of her friend's bed. "I brought you some flowers," Alice smiled faintly, looking at Emmeline now but without the slightest flicker of recognition. "I don't know what they are- but do you like them?" Alice made no response, but her smile didn't falter so Emmeline placed the flowers in the vase between the two beds.

"I've been meaning to come for a while. I know it's been too long…" Alice looked at her curiously, as though she might have been speaking a different language. "You'll never guess what happened- I'm not allowed to say, but it's a bit of a miracle. But what I _can_ tell you is that I now have another godchild." Alice seemed to be listening, though Emmeline wasn't sure that she understood. She never was but she continued anyways. The healers always said that they always enjoyed her visits, though it was impossible for Emmeline to tell.

"I don't really know what they were thinking. The first time it happened- when you made me Neville's godmother I mean- I never understood. Of course, I didn't understand why James and Lily made Sirius Harry's godfather either… He was so irresponsible with that stupid motorcycle of his. Who in their right mind-" she stopped short, realizing her words and shot Alice an apologetic look. She didn't seem to notice. "Anyways, I don't get it, but I'm sure you had your reasons…" She trailed off seemingly having lost Alice's attention.

"I saw Neville last week," Alice appeared to perk up at mention of her son, though it could have been Emmeline's imagination. "He's doing well. He seems more and more like you every time I see him. Remember the timid little thing you were when I first met you, during our first year at Hogwarts? We broke you out of your shell eventually. I think you'd be proud of Neville. He's really grown into a wonderful young man. I think Augusta is driving him a bit mad though, he doesn't say it, but I can tell he's ready to go back to Hogwarts."

Alice held a closed fist out to Emmeline, when she opened her hand she revealed a bubble gum wrapper and offered it to her friend. "Oh, thank you, dear, it's lovely," she smiled, taking the wrapper dutifully, but looked her friend over. Not an inkling of who Alice Longbottom had once been remained. Her vivid blue eyes were now dull and vacant more often than not and her round face was sallow and lined with wrinkles, her white hair hung around her, knotted and limp.

"We miss you, Ally," she squeezed her friend's hand but received no reaction. "Anyways, I should run. We're having a meeting soon and I can't miss it." She kissed her friend's cheek, then Frank's and before she departed she looked at them once more and said, "I'll come visit again soon, I promise." And with that, she left. She walked down the hall and apparated back to Grimmauld Place. Remus and Albus were fetching James, Lily and Amelia and bringing them to Headquarters, the meeting would start shortly.

On her way to the kitchen, Emmeline greeted Ron and Hermione politely, wondering vaguely if they knew about James and Lily yet. The kids knew nearly all of the Order members that frequented headquarters, some better than others, but they didn't know Emmeline well. She usually came for meetings and left directly after, it was all in order to avoid Sirius, but the kids didn't know that.

Ron and Hermione searched high and low for the Weasley twins, the meeting would be starting any minute now and they had made plans to listen in. They weren't clueless, something big had been happening over the past few days and they wanted to know exactly what it was. However, this would be impossible without Fred and George as they possessed the Extendable Ears- Ron and Hermione would not be able to listen in without them. Ron was more broken up about this than Hermione, rule-breaking still did not come naturally to her, even after four years with Harry and Ron as her best friends.

"Where the bloody hell are they?" Ron demanded in frustration as they descended the stairs back to the entrance hall where their search had begun. He started to get the feeling that he had forgotten something until he saw a familiar head of messy black hair at the bottom of the stairs. "Harry! I thought you weren't supposed to get here until-" he stopped short when _Harry_ turned to face him.

It wasn't Harry at all, though this man could be his spitting image if Harry aged about twenty years. They had the same build, the same hair and while their faces were similar, the man's was slightly longer and his eyes were hazel where Harry's were green. "Bloody hell!" he looked to Hermione to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. She could see them too judging by the look on her face. Next to the man was a pretty red-haired woman with Harry's eyes and a little girl who couldn't have been more than eleven.

"Hermione, they're- they're-" Ron stopped short, he wasn't sure who they were. He recognized them immediately from Harry's photo albums, but Harry's parents were _dead_. They couldn't be them.

"I know, Ron," she said calmly, he noticed only then that she gripped her wand tightly, hurriedly, he reached for his own. They were Death Eaters, they had to be, there was no other explanation.

"Ah, Mr. Wealsey, Miss Granger," both students flinched at the sudden presence of their headmaster. "I see you've met James, Lily and Amelia." Both teens stared dumbly at the old wizard- he couldn't be serious, it couldn't possibly be true. It just couldn't be. Noticing their looks he frowned and said, "Molly said she would explain… No matter, we can talk about it in great detail after the meeting but for now, know that these are, in fact, Harry's parents and Amelia is Harry's sister."

Ron's jaw dropped and Hermione's eyes widened, both were stunned speechless. "They have been questioned under Veritaserum and it has been confirmed that they really are Lily and James Potter. They survived that night and had their memories wiped so they have been living as muggles ever since. They regained their memories over the past few days and are now rejoining the Order. Perhaps you could keep Amelia company during the meeting?" They nodded meekly. "Excellent. Shall we-"

"Wait," Hermione finally found her voice through her shock. "Transform." She demanded of James, he looked bewildered and confused and in response to his look, Hermione said incredulously, "If you don't know then-"

"I do know," James responded with a slightly defensive tone before mumbling, "I just don't know how _you_ know." These were Harry's best friends, he reminded himself, if Harry knew about the Marauders then so would they. Then, he transformed into a stag. Looking at Hermione, he cocked his head to the side as though to ask, "_Happy?" _then he transformed back.

Hermione turned to Ron immediately without so much as another glance in the Potters' direction and said, "Incredible, he looked just like-"

"Harry's patronus," Ron finished while Hermione nodded in agreement. James and Lily beamed proudly at his words.

"Indeed," Dumbledore confirmed. "Now if you'll excuse us, we must get to the meeting."

"It was nice to meet both of you," Lily told them then addressing her daughter said, "We'll see you in a little bit." Then they disappeared into the kitchen leaving Amelia alone with her brother's two best friends.

For a minute, they were silent, Ron and Hermione looked at the little girl curiously and with confusion. "Erm, hi," Amelia said the word like it was a question, Ron and Hermione just stared at her.

"Come on," Hermione said stiffly, Amelia followed her to a sitting room where she sat in an armchair while Hermione and Ron occupied the couch opposite from her. She suddenly felt like she was in an interrogation room, they just kept staring at her and she fidgeted nervously under their gaze.

Hermione was perplexed. If Dumbledore said it was true, then it must be, right? He was the greatest wizard alive, but even Dumbledore had been tricked before. Hermione recalled two of their Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers who had fooled Dumbledore to get to Harry. But the girl did look a bit like Harry and the people who claimed to be his parents looked identical to the people in Harry's photo albums, just older. Hermione tried to consider the possibility that it might be true.

To use Polyjuice potion, the person you wanted to transform into needed to be alive. So, if they were imposters, they were not using Polyjuice potion. There were appearance altering spells and charms, but they were complex, difficult to apply and even more difficult to maintain over time. Therefore, they were most likely not using those. They could be Metamorphagi, but that was even more unlikely. And while Veritaserum was exceedingly difficult to get around, it was not entirely impossible.

Even though Hermione had her doubts, she knew that there was nothing that could duplicate an animagus form. Hermione had never seen James Potter's animagus form, but Sirius and Professor Lupin had said that Harry's patronus looked exactly like Prongs.

Hermione had to ask herself: why would Death Eaters choose to disguise themselves as Harry's parents anyways? To get close to him obviously, but Harry was already cautious, he wouldn't instantly fall into their arms and start calling them Mum and Dad and spill all his secrets. If Voldemort wanted to get close to Harry, there were better people to use for that. It wouldn't be difficult to take out an Order member or a Weasley or Hermione herself and use Polyjuice to get to Harry. He had done it once before. Using his dead parents didn't make sense, unless it was a mind game, but even that didn't seem like something Voldemort would do.

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. When she examined the facts and Professor Dumbledore's testimony, it was all so unbelievable, impossible almost… But Harry had done the impossible; he had survived the killing curse. Why couldn't his parents be equally impossible? It was difficult to accept that this could be true, but even more difficult to deny the facts before her.

Ron's voice shook Hermione from her thoughts, "So you're Harry's sister…?" His voice was slow and cautious.

"That's what everyone's been telling me," Amelia joked lamely.

Hermione nodded skeptically- she wanted details, she wasn't entirely persuaded yet. "How did your parents survive all those years ago?"

"Well," Amelia wasn't sure if she should say. She wasn't supposed to know exactly and she didn't really trust them enough not to get her in trouble. But then she remembered all the crazy things they had done with Harry, all the rules they had broken, and she thought better of it. "I'm not really supposed to know…" It _had_ been one of the few things her parents had omitted when they explained things to her. Blood rituals were something really dangerous, she had inferred. Luckily she was an excellent eavesdropper.

"But you do?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow. Not entirely surprising if she truly was the daughter of a _Marauder_ and Harry's sister.

"Yes," she grinned wolfishly at them, "I was listening at the door the whole time- they did some sort of blood ritual, Sirius said it was primarily to protect Harry but it sort of linked all of them together and prevented the killing curse from working on them."

"Is that possible, Hermione?" Ron asked, looking to his friend, hope unmistakably written across his face.

"I don't know, Ronald," she looked slightly flustered. Amelia guessed that she wasn't used to not having all the answers. "I suppose it could be, but I don't know much about blood rituals, most of the books with information on them were destroyed because they're really dangerous and most of the time dark and I doubt they would even be mentioned in books outside the Restricted Section, if there, even."

"Did Harry really slay a basilisk?" Amelia interrupted, Ron and Hermione knew Harry better than anyone and she was desperately curious about her brother. Anyways, the last few days had been full of so much talk about amnesia and blood rituals that she wanted a new conversation topic. Both teens simply looked at her.

"Yes," Ron said shortly before turning back to Hermione. "But their memories-"

Amelia sighed, "They think that someone snuck in after Voldemort-" she noticed both of them flinch at the name, "-tried to kill them. Whoever it was wiped their memories and dumped them in the middle of nowhere to live out the rest of their lives as muggles. They think whoever it was transfigured a piece of rubble or something to look like their bodies. We don't know why they left Harry behind but their plan worked perfectly. I guess they just didn't expect my parents to have another child- me. When I got my Hogwarts letter, Professor McGonagall came to explain and recognized my parents and they started remembering things." They both stared at her, dumbstruck. Now that they had all the information they needed, maybe they would tell her about her big brother. She tried to change the subject again. "So, how exactly does Quidditch work? I heard that Harry is a really good flier and-"

"So, you really are Harry's sister?" Ron cut her off.

"I think so," Amelia answered, unsure. She believed her parents when they told her, but she didn't exactly have any proof, just like she didn't have any proof that she was a witch. She just had to trust her parents, but now being questioned about it all made her uncomfortable. "It's kind of weird- I haven't even met him yet or anything."

Hermione tilted her head slightly staring at Amelia, her eyes searching the little girl's face. "She does look a bit like Harry…"

"Something about the nose," Ron agreed, gesturing at his own face.

Amelia was sick of their incredulous stares and comments and questions. They had a right to be cautious, but they were worse than Sirius, Remus and Emmeline had been. She tried to change the subject again, "Does Harry pull pranks? Because-"

Amelia's words were cut off by two red-haired boys entering the room, they were twins and looked to be a couple years older than Ron and Hermione, "Did someone say pranks?" Amelia's lips curled into a grin at this.

"Oh, no, not you," Ron groaned. "Did you know about this?"

"About what, Ronniekins?"

He gestured wildly at Amelia, "This!"

"Is she a long lost Weasley?" One of the twins asked, they both examined her and Amelia's previous excitement at the idea of discussing pranks dissipated instantly. She hated this. She had met a couple witches and wizards upon arriving at Grimmauld Place and they all looked at her the same way- like a bug under a microscope. She wasn't sure if it was because of her parents or Harry or all three of them combined. Harry was famous, her parents had been well-known and their return was something worth celebrating, but Amelia… She was new and different and no one knew make of her. But she knew that as the Famous Harry Potter's sister, she would need to get used to the stares.

"No," the other said. "I bet she's the Potters' daughter!"

"_What?_" Ron demanded. "How is it that you knew about this and we didn't?"

"Don't you remember this morning when Mum told us to meet her upstairs before the meeting?" One twin asked. Hermione looked accusingly at her friend and Amelia almost pitied him.

"We've only just found out," the other twin finished.

"I forgot," Ron admitted, glancing apologetically at Hermione. "We searched the whole bloody house for the two of you- we wanted to listen into the meeting!" He cast a sideways look at Amelia, as though she might tell.

"So did we-" started one of the twins.

"But Crookshanks ate the last Extendable Ear," finished the other. Amelia didn't have time to ask what exactly an Extendable Ear was (though she very much wanted to find out) because _another_ red-head entered the room, this one was a girl.

"Ron," she started. Amelia was quite sure that she had never seen so many red-heads in one room (but she had also never seen a Weasley family reunion). This girl seemed to be close in age with Ron and Hermione. "Oh," the girl stopped short, seeing Amelia, "Is that her then- Harry's sister?"

"You knew about this too?" Ron demanded.

"Some of us do listen when Mum speaks," she said nonchalantly. "So that _is_ her?"

"Yes, it's her."

"And _she_ is right here," Amelia finally said angrily, they all looked at her almost as though they had forgotten she was there. "_Thank you_." Amelia relaxed back into the armchair, folding her arms triumphantly. She was young and she was a child, but she was not stupid and she was not deaf. If they had questions, they could very well ask her.

"Sorry," Hermione apologized, they all looked incredibly awkward, they probably hadn't meant to be rude, they were just surprised. She didn't know how she would react if people she knew to be dead showed up on day very much alive. "It's just- people don't come back from the dead, even in the wizarding world- I know they weren't _actually_ dead, but everyone thought they were. It's just a shock for all of us… And I think," she looked at Ron briefly, "Our first reaction is that it couldn't possibly be true and when we find out it isn't, Harry would be devastated. We just want to keep him from getting hurt."

Amelia nodded, she could understand and accept that. "Well, I suppose I'm glad Harry has such good friends then. But it really is true- all of it."

Hermione smiled genuinely back at her. "We know. I'm Hermione Granger, this is Ron Weasley, his brothers, Fred and George and their sister Ginny."

"Amelia," she faltered at her introduction. Should she tell them Andrews or Potter? She remembered her conversation with Remus. "I suppose really it's Amelia Potter, but I think I'm going to stick with Amelia Andrews for now."

"This must be really hard for you," Ginny said kindly.

"I remember when I got my Hogwarts letter, I was so confused but happy at the same time," Hermione agreed.

Amelia nodded, hardly knowing where to begin. "It's not just that though. Finding out about magic was incredible and confusing- I just walked into the kitchen the other day and there was an owl there. My dad knew what to do right away, it had my Hogwarts letter and I read it and it just- I don't know… I thought it was a lie so I wrote back saying so, but then I found out it wasn't but all of that was sort of swept aside- and I don't blame my parents or anything," she added very quickly. "But when Professor McGonagall came, my parents started remembering things and remembered that they were magical too…

"I always knew about their amnesia and stuff and I knew that someday their memories might come back and everything would change but it's just- on top of finding out about magic and that I'm a- a witch, it's more overwhelming than I ever thought it could be. They're getting their old lives back and I'm happy for them, but it's like I'm losing the only life I've ever known…

"And then I found out about Harry. I've always wanted a sibling, but I never thought I'd actually get one and I'm so excited to meet him and I've heard wonderful things about him from Sirius and Remus but I'm scared too. Voldemort tried to kill my parents and Harry and he's targeting Harry," she started to speak faster and faster. "And after everything Harry's been through I'm afraid he's going to hate me for growing up with Mum and Dad and he didn't get to! And I feel guilty because it just isn't fair and he's been through so much!" At the end of her rant, Harry's friends just stared at her.

No one knew what to say. None of them could really understand how confused she was, though they could sympathize, but they didn't want to tell her that Harry wouldn't be angry or jealous or hurt, because they didn't know. They didn't know how he would react and they didn't want to give her false hope by telling her everything would be okay when really, he might harbor disdain and jealousy towards her, at least at first. But they all knew what Harry wanted more than anything was a family, he would come around eventually. Amelia must have read their expressions because she said, "Can you just tell me about him?"

"Of course," Hermione said, relieved. And the five teenagers began to tell Amelia all about the older brother she didn't yet know.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix was in full swing. Once everyone had accepted Lily and James's return, they began to fill them in on recent events, mostly current events from the summer, any news of Voldemort and things of that nature. But they also told them a lot about what had happened in the wizarding world over the past fourteen years, politics and major events mostly.

"What needs to be discussed now is whether or not to make Lily and James's return public," Dumbledore said, looking around the table. Ultimately, it was their decision, but input from the rest of the Order might prove helpful.

"You-Know-Who will use them to get to Harry," Molly Weasley spoke up first.

"I don't see any reason why they would, it's too dangerous," someone else said.

"The reason," James said loudly enough to silence speculative whispers, "Is that our testimony might free Sirius." The more he thought about his best friend in Azkaban, the sicker he felt about it. If they had just kept him as secret keeper, it could have been avoided. If they hadn't gotten amnesia, they could have cleared his name. If they had only decided to tell Professor Dumbledore or Remus, James's best friend would not have suffered as he did.

"Prongs, you don't have to do that for me. It's much safer for you to stay hidden, I can wait," Sirius said calmly. Of course, after fourteen years, Sirius wanted to be free, truly free, not just out of Azkaban and stuck in a new prison. He wanted to be able to get a butterbeer in the Leaky Cauldron with James and Remus or play a pickup game of Quidditch, or simply be able to leave this godforsaken house. He wanted his own place where he didn't have to tiptoe around for fear of waking his mother's screaming portrait and he wanted to be able to do things for himself instead of having to rely on Remus or Dumbledore or the other members of the Order.

But did he want these things badly enough to risk his best friend's safety? Absolutely not. After fourteen years without his best mate, he was determined to keep him around this time. He could wait for his freedom. He had waited fourteen years already.

"Padfoot, what if Voldemort finds out and attacks us anyways? If something happens to us and our testimony wasn't recorded, then you'll never be free. We need to do this," James told his friend. James remembered the day that Sirius had shown up on his doorstep, trunk packed and distraught after running away. He remembered the cruelty his friend had faced from his parents in this house. And he remembered Sirius swearing he would never return. Yet, here he was- stuck in the house that was a constant reminder of his worst childhood memories. James had to get him out, that much was clear.

"I agree," Lily said, "We need to go public with our return. We should talk to Amelia and Harry about it first, of course."

Sirius was ready to beg, "James, Lily, _please_-"

"Padfoot, the news will come out eventually," James said evenly, "I'd rather it come from us than some shady Prophet reporter." James had seen it happen before. A vulture of a Daily Prophet reporter would catch wind of some delicate news or situation like theirs then write up an exaggerated hack-job article. He would not allow this to happen to his family.

But Sirius was desperate to make them understand and change their minds, "And what about Amelia's safety?" It was a low blow, he knew, but there was nothing that the Potters valued above the lives of their children. Not even Sirius's life. "She's only eleven, she can't defend herself- Death Eaters won't care that she's a child. This is Voldemort. He tried to kill Harry as an infant, _he won't care_ that Amelia is only eleven. If they find out about her, they will use her to get to Harry and Voldemort will kill both of them in front of you, given the chance." It was harsh, but it was the truth and he needed James to understand, they needed to stay safe. Everyone in the room was completely silent.

James's face was ashen and he looked as though he had been struck. He wanted to protect Amelia, his little girl, from all the dangers Harry had faced, from all the trauma and now that he could, he needed to protect Harry as well. Making it known that Amelia was Harry's sister would undoubtedly put her and Harry in danger, but helping Sirius get his freedom was the right thing to do. But at Amelia's expense? At Harry's? At the expense of his family? Sirius was his family too, his brother- but his children… "I-" James couldn't form words, "Padfoot…" He was not able look his friend in the eye.

"James, I understand," Sirius said gently. "You need to protect your family."

James felt sick with himself, he needed to help his best friend- but his children, his family… Lily's expression matched James's- grieving, pained and uncertain. Her eyes were fixed downwards, on the table. "I think- I think that Lily and I need to discuss this further ourselves," he said in a tone hardly louder than a whisper, holding his wife's hand under the table. Sirius was relieved, it was a step in the right direction and he hoped they would make the right decision.

Dumbledore nodded, "I will set up a tentative meeting with the Minister and a Daily Prophet reporter sometime next week, after Harry's trial, I should think. We can go through with it, if you choose to, or we can always cancel or delay it." And the matter was settled. The meeting droned on and when it eventually ended, James and Lily remained in their seats. People approached them individually to welcome them back but once the majority of the Order had left, they sat with Sirius, Remus and Emmeline, talking and drinking firewhiskey.

"So where are Frank and Alice?" Lily asked casually, "I thought they would be at the meeting." She wasn't sure why, but thinking about Frank and Alice gave her a strange sense of foreboding. That is why she hadn't asked about Alice since getting her memories back, but she told herself she was just being patient. She would see them soon. She had assumed she would see them at the meeting, but now that she hadn't, she couldn't hold it in anymore. She needed to know.

The previously light mood in the room dissipated instantly and Lily knew at once that something was wrong. Someone else she knew had died in the fourteen years they had been gone. That was the only explanation she could think of. A cold numbness started in her stomach and spread throughout her body. "What is it?" she whispered, fearful.

Emmeline's eyes were brimming with tears, "I'm sorry sweetie, I should have told you… I just didn't know how…" She covered her face with her hands and took a long shaky breath to try to calm herself. Sirius reached towards her as though to place his hand on her back supportively, comfortingly, but thought better of it and recoiled. "I'm sorry, I just went to see them today and-" she broke off as the tears began to pour down her face. It was just too fresh, having just seen them earlier that day. She never talked about it, how much it still hurt her and how she had never really gotten over it- how could she? But it was easy to repress her grief when she didn't talk about it. Most of the time, she could _almost_ pretend it had never happened.

Remus, understanding, took up the task of explaining what had happened to the Longbottoms. "After you were attacked, a number of Death Eaters were angry and they went looking for Voldemort, they tried to get information from Frank and Alice, who of course didn't know anything." He paused and drew a deep breath, he was still shaken by the thought of the attack on the Longbottoms, it was difficult not to be, it was all so horrific. "It was the Lestranges and Barty Crouch Junior- they attacked them and using the Cruciatus curse, they tortured Frank and Alice to insanity. They live in the long-term resident ward at Saint Mungo's now."

Lily's heart plummeted and silent tears ran down her face, James rubbed her back absently, his face was white and his eyes were wide and unblinking as he became momentarily lost in thought. Frank and Alice… "And Neville?" James croaked. Did the little boy suffer the same fate as his parents? Or did they kill him? Or was he still alive and as scarred as Harry was? On several occasions the two little boys had played together, he remembered Lily and Alice would set up play dates as often as they could...

"He's fine, he lives with his grandmother and is a Gryffindor with Harry." James breathed a sigh of relief but Lily cried onto his shoulder. He didn't know what to say or how to help her. Lily and Alice had been very close throughout school and after. Frank had been a year older than them, so they were friendly, but not close, Frank and James hadn't talked much until after Hogwarts. The Longbottoms were both kind and friendly people- good people- and it chilled James to the bone to think about their terrible fate and he knew that it could have been him and Lily. He had to keep it together, he pulled Lily closer, having her near gave him strength.

The mood was very heavy from then on, they talked little and once they had finished their drinks and Lily had calmed down enough and dried her eyes, they decided to go home, they were exhausted. Nothing wears a person out more than grief, James decided. They found Amelia in the sitting room, she was enthralled with whatever story the Weasleys and Hermione were telling her, "But how did he hold his breath for an hour?" She asked, wide-eyed.

"It was brilliant- our friend Neville-" Ron stopped short when he saw James and Lily at the door.

"Are you talking about Harry?" Lily asked, smiling weakly.

"Yes, erm, Mrs. Potter," Ron said awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with his best friend's not-so-dead mother.

"Lily," she corrected warmly, she looked all the children over, "Fred and George," she said, addressing the twins, "Though don't ask me which of you is which, I met you both once when you were very young and I couldn't tell you apart then either… Then you two must be Ron and Ginny Weasley, so you must be Hermione Granger," she looked at each of them in turn. "How did I do?"

"All right," Hermione said faintly.

Lily smiled again, "Amelia, we should get going-"

"But Mum, they were just telling me about the Triwizard Tournament and how Harry got past a dragon and-"

A look of shock passed over Lily's face at the mention of a dragon- something Albus had neglected to mention- she would need to speak to him about that. What kind of headmaster allows a fourteen-year-old to fight dragons? The look was gone as soon as it came, "And I'm sure Harry will be able to tell you the story too. Come on."

Amelia pouted, "Fine." She got up and joined her parents. "It was really nice to meet all of you, thank you for telling me about Harry." They all said goodbye, but in the doorway James was speaking to Sirius.

James might not have been able to clear Sirius's name right away, but he could get him out of this wretched house. "Padfoot, you know you can come stay with us for a while, if you want. We have a spare bedroom." They didn't notice Fred and George exchanging glances behind them.

"No, Prongs, it's fine, really. I should be here." He would need to be around tomorrow when Harry arrived and he did not want to burden his friends. Anyways, the spare room was Harry's room, it should be immediately available for him so that if he wanted it, he could have it.

"Are you sure?" James frowned, Sirius hated this place. "You're welcome with us any time, Padfoot."

"I know, I know, but what would Moony do here without me?" He clapped Remus on the shoulder.

"Well, if you're sure-"

"I am."

"Okay, we'll get going then…"

"And we'll owl you tomorrow after we talk to Harry, okay?" Lily and James nodded enthusiastically, then they made their goodbyes. The three Potters took the portkey together and disappeared.

When they were gone, Sirius and Remus noticed the shocked looks on the twins' faces, "Moony, Padfoot and Prongs?" one asked, amazed.

"_Moony, Padfoot and Prongs?_" the other demanded shrilly. "The Marauders?"

Sirius beamed proudly and Remus groaned, muttering something that sounded remarkably like, "You have no idea how long I've been trying to keep that from them…"

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Thanks for reading, everyone! I feel as though I've been writing this story for ages and we STILL haven't seen Harry, but we will next chapter so get excited!

In this chapter I wanted to show Emmeline more, deal with James's feelings and guilt about Sirius going to Azkaban a bit and for Ron and Hermione to find out about the Potters. To me, that was really essential for when Harry finds out, that way his best friends can help him through it all properly without being shocked and disbelieving themselves. Make sense? What do you think?


	8. Chapter 8

As usual, you guys have completely overwhelmed me with your support and feedback- thanks so much for reading, everyone!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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"Get in quick, Harry," Lupin whispered. "But don't go far inside and don't touch anything." Harry stepped through the threshold into complete darkness but heard the others file in behind him. After a moment, someone turned on the lights and Mad-Eye Moody removed the disillusionment charm from Harry. Many of the members of the group who had retrieved Harry from the Dursleys started down the hall, but as he began to follow, Lupin caught his arm. They waited in silence until everyone else disappeared through a door and just he, Harry and the dark-haired woman who had introduced herself as Emmeline Vance remained in the entrance hall.

"What-"

"Harry!" Harry's question was cut off by his godfather joining them with a smile on his face. Harry was surprised to see him there and stunned to see him looking so well. He seemed healthier and although he was still no more than skin and bones, he had a lighter air about him as though he was happier- more alive and less burdened.

"Sirius!" Harry embraced the man who was a link to his parents the closest thing to a father he had. Or so he thought.

"Come on," Sirius nodded towards the adjacent room, "We want to talk to you-" he stopped, seeing Emmeline and decided to make a more official introduction. "You met Emmeline, right? We all went to school together- she was close with your mother."

"Oh," was all Harry could muster, bewildered. The information had been unexpected, he had only ever met his father's friends, he had assumed all of his mother's friends were long gone. He looked at the woman who was a stranger, but she smiled kindly at him.

In the sitting room, Harry settled into the chair he didn't know had previously been occupied by his sister the night before and they sat in silence. The three adults grew awkward, uncomfortable, as though they hadn't planned this out at all and in all honesty, they hadn't. At least not as much as they should have. All three of them stared at Harry, wondering where to begin and the young wizard fidgeted under their gaze. "Am I in trouble?" he asked slowly, as calmly as he was able to. He felt like a child about to be scolded by their parents. Honestly, he had fought off two dementors on his own; he deserved a '_good job' _or a pat on the back or a gold star or _something_. Instead, everyone had been treating him like a disobedient child. "Because I wouldn't have cast the Patronus if there weren't dementors and if I hadn't had my wand they would have kissed us both and-"

"Harry, you aren't in trouble," Remus said quickly. "We just have something to tell you."

Harry's heart sank, "Have I been expelled? Did they change their minds?" He would never be allowed back at Hogwarts. They would snap his wand and he would be banished from the Wizarding world and forced to live out his life as a muggle. That is, until Voldemort inevitably hunted him down and killed him out of shear spite.

"No, no, nothing like that." Harry was relieved though entirely unaware of the emotional rollercoaster that was about to come. Remus looked at Sirius significantly. As his godfather, they had decided that Sirius should be the one to tell Harry the news. While Harry trusted both Sirius and Remus, he still thought of Remus as a professor and their relationship had remained as such. Harry and Sirius had a closer bond; he would most likely believe the news easier if it came from Sirius. Remus was only there to help explain and they had asked Emmeline to join them in case they needed reinforcements and she had been so present lately that it felt unnatural not to invite her.

"Well, something happened, Harry," Sirius said awkwardly. His eyes met his godson's; the boy had seen more than he should have in his fifteen years and he was no longer the baby Sirius had once cared for. He could not protect him forever. Though he had never been one to beat around the bush, Sirius would later reflect that there might have been a better way to break the news. However, Sirius's method was equally effective. "It's your parents- they're alive."

All the breath seemed to have been sucked out of Harry's lungs and the only thing he seemed to be able to do was stare at the three adults sitting opposite from him who all stared back hopefully. Whatever Harry had thought they would tell him _that_ had not been it. That was probably the last thing he had ever expected to hear because it simply wasn't possible. "What?" he managed to croak, his voice shaking significantly. It wasn't possible, he reminded himself. People didn't come back from the dead. He would not allow himself to believe it. He would not allow himself to be tricked like this.

"Your parents are alive," Sirius repeated, there was the slightest smile across his lips as he breathed a sigh of relief. All in all, he looked as though a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

Harry stared blankly at his godfather for a moment, remembering once more everything Sirius had been through, all his pain and all his suffering. He had spent thirteen years in Azkaban, he had been betrayed by people he trusted and he had lost his best friends. Then it clicked. Harry understood. It was really sad actually and Harry pitied them but after experiencing so many tragedies in their lives, he knew that Sirius and Remus's actions were out of grief not cruelty. Harry nodded skeptically and finally, as calmly as he could, he said, "I think you need to talk to Fred and George."

They had expected him to scream at them with anger and disbelief, or cry tears of grief or to grin with happiness- but Fred and George? That had not been anything close to a response they had expected. It just didn't make sense. "_What?_"

"You need to talk to Fred and George," Harry repeated in the same eerily calm tone. "I know it's been a long time since you've pulled a prank and you're out of practice and you miss my parents, but telling a person that their dead parents are alive isn't funny. It is cruel and insensitive." He looked at Emmeline, "I don't know how they dragged you into this- I don't even know you." Then he stood, "I'm going to find Ron and Hermione."

Remus seemed to overcome his shock and stood as well. "No, Harry, sit down. Please. Let us explain." Remus's eyes were sad and mournful and pleading when they met Harry's. He didn't know what possible explanation his parents' friends could have to offer, but since they were the only link he had to them, he could give them five minutes of his time to explain what had possessed them to do this to him. He collapsed back into the armchair, glowering at the three people sitting across from him. He wanted this explanation, and it had better be good. "Your parents are alive," Remus repeated Sirius's words calmly.

"That isn't possible! Why are you saying that?" Something snapped within Harry like a rubber band. Blood pounded in his ears, his eyes narrowed and his face flushed red, he was truly angry now. Why wouldn't they let the joke go? Hadn't they realized it wasn't funny? Why were they doing this to him- he trusted them and looked up to them. Why were they torturing him with a dream he knew could never become a reality? He would never meet his parents. They had died long ago. The realization was not new, but it was crushing and grief now joined his fury.

"Because it's true, Harry. They're alive," Sirius tried to assure him, almost desperately.

Harry shook his head, his eyes were fixed on the ground and he was trying to pretend he was anywhere but here. He blinked hard so they wouldn't see the tears that were forming in his eyes, so they wouldn't see his pain. "This isn't funny," his voice was sharp.

"Harry it isn't a joke-"

He snapped once more, rage filled him again and he looked at his godfather, "Then you're crazy! Azkaban drives everyone mad and-"

"Harry!" Emmeline scolded. Harry had hardly paid her any attention but now he did, his eyes narrowed to glare hatefully at her. She didn't know him- his mother's friend or not, she had no right… "Just listen to us, please." He didn't know why he didn't just get up and leave. They couldn't stop him. But it was a glimmer of hope that made him curious enough to stay seated. He looked at Emmeline reproachfully and expectantly but didn't say anything. When he glanced at Sirius, his godfather looked like a kicked puppy and Harry dropped his eyes to the floor again as though that would diminish his guilt. "Your parents _are_ alive." She didn't give him a chance to protest again. "Before Voldemort attacked your house that night, your parents performed a blood ritual-"

"Like the one Voldemort used to restore his body?" Harry glared at them suspiciously. It sounded dark and if his parents were doing dark magic then- no. Not his parents, he reminded himself. His parents were long dead.

The three adults exchanged glances, none of them had really made the connection before, but the two rituals were so different. The ritual James and Lily had performed came from love and desperation to protect their child. The ritual Voldemort used came from selfish need and personal gain. They were both blood rituals, but that is where the similarities ended. The ritual to protect Harry had performed was anything but dark.

"Different," Emmeline answered confidently. "It sort of connected the three of you. Primarily it was a ritual to protect you from the killing curse if your parents were willing to selflessly sacrifice their lives for you. If they were able to do that, all three of you would be spared. They told us about it, but we thought it had failed…"

Harry furrowed his brow, staring at her. If they had survived, where had they been all these years? His heart plummeted at the realization. "So, they faked their deaths and ran off leaving me behind with the Dursleys?"

"No, no, Harry, no," Emmeline said quickly, pitying the poor boy for his immediate distrust of adults. Not without reason, she knew. With everything he had been through, she could hardly expect otherwise. Harry's eyes were fixed on the floor again, but she could see them shining with tears of betrayal and grief. "Harry, listen to me, your parents would never willingly abandon you." He did not look up. "Harry. Look at me." Slowly, he raised his eyes to meet hers, though his head was still hanging. "Your parents love you. They loved you then and they love you now- you were their world and everything they lived for. They would have _never_ willingly abandoned you."

Harry was silent for a long moment. He didn't really understand the kind of love Emmeline talked about. Yes, he had seen it with the Weasleys- the unconditional love Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had for their children. Harry's aunt and uncle had a different love for their child, spoiling him and indulging his every whim, but their love was no less unconditional. It was something Harry could see, but never understand or feel, like some sort of foreign ritual he could never partake in. "Then what happened?" He asked, hardly believing his own words. He would not allow himself to hope just for his hope to be ripped away and crushed before him. And yet… Could it be true?

"We think that someone snuck into the house right after Voldemort's body was destroyed," Emmeline explained calmly, though inside she was swelling with triumph. "We believe that whoever this person was _Obliviate_-ed James and Lily then apparated them away, leaving them unconscious in the middle of nowhere. Dumbledore believes that this person transfigured a piece of rubble or something to take the forms of your parents bodies so everyone would think they were actually dead. The spell would have been somewhat complex, but not strong, it would have only needed to hold the appearance for a few days. Afterwards, when your parents woke up all those years ago, they had no idea who they were or what had happened and they lived like muggles up until they started remembering everything a few days ago."

There was a heavy sort of pain in Harry's chest- he had still been abandoned, perhaps not by his parents, but he had still been left behind like a piece of trash. "Why would they do that- whoever _Obliviate_-ed my parents, I mean- why would they leave me behind? And if they wanted them out of the way, why not just kill them? But if they wanted them to live, why not just leave them alone?"

"We don't know Harry," Emmeline said kindly, there was sympathy in her eyes. "We probably won't know unless we find whoever did this, but your parents don't remember."

"And they remember everything else now?"

"Yes. They took a potion that helped to restore their memories."

"And how do you know it's really them?"Harry asked skeptically, his rational side raged war against the swelling hope within him. "This sounds like an intricate plan of Voldemort's to draw me in and trick me. They could be Death Eaters." But when he thought about it, it didn't seem like a plan of Voldemort's. Voldemort wanted nothing more than to see Harry dead, so why would he toy with him like this first? It didn't make sense. But it couldn't really be true. His parents couldn't be alive, it just wasn't possible.

Sirius shook his head, "I thought so too, but they were questioned under Veritaserum- even if they could have gotten past that, your dad transformed into Prongs. I have seen his animagus a hundred times, I would know it anywhere. And there is nothing that can mimic an animagus form like that."

Harry thought on that for a moment, even if it was true... "Why now?" Harry demanded, the adults stared back blankly. "Why did they remember now? Why not four years ago, when I started Hogwarts? Or ten years ago? Why now all of a sudden?"

If his parents had truly been alive all this time, why had they only just now just remembered their lives? Their son? Was it some cruel trick of fate? Why hadn't they come to rescue him from the Dursleys as a small child being shut in a cupboard? Why hadn't they been there, grinning at him supportively as he opened his first Hogwarts letter? Why hadn't they been there to take him to Diagon Alley to buy his Hogwarts robes and books and his wand? Why hadn't they explained how to get onto Platform nine-and-three-quarters? Or cheer him on at Quidditch matches? Or support him through the Triwizard Tournament and its aftermath? After fourteen years, why were they resurfacing only now?

The three adults hesitated, exchanging uncomfortable glances. "Harry," Sirius started. "You have to remember that they were suffering from severe amnesia, they couldn't remember their childhood, their time at Hogwarts, getting married and they couldn't even remember you. If they had, they wouldn't have rested until they found you." Harry stared at his godfather. He was stalling, that much was obvious. "Your parents… They had another child. A daughter. Her name is Amelia." Harry's eyes were wide with shock but he made no other reaction so Sirius continued. "She is eleven and received her Hogwarts letter a few days ago, when Professor McGonagall went to their house to explain, she recognized James and Lily and started triggering their hidden memories."

There was a pregnant pause. "Oh," Harry felt numb and strangely weightless. He had nearly accepted that it was true, but this… He didn't know what to think. He knew that he should be happy. He should be ecstatic and leaping with joy- his every prayer had been answered, his only wish had been granted. He was getting the only thing he had ever wanted- a family. That is what he had seen when he looked into the Mirror of Erised, after all- himself surrounded by family.

He should be overjoyed, but he wasn't and he couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with him- why wasn't he happy or grateful? A coldness clenched his heart at the thought of James and Lily's daughter, finding out that his parents had another child was like a slap in the face. "They had another kid," it was half a question, half a statement that he said to himself more than anything. His eyes were wide and unblinking, fixed on the ground once more. His parents, perhaps acknowledging a void that they couldn't fill or remember because of the amnesia, had filled it with a different child. A replacement.

"Yes, she's a sweet girl, you'll like her," Remus confirmed. Harry didn't care if she was a sweet girl or not. He didn't care to know anything about this child. "Ron and Hermione met her-"

"Ron and Hermione met her?" Harry demanded, his eyes snapped from the ground to Remus in a rage. "Did they meet my parents as well?" This was a different anger than that he had felt a few minutes earlier. This was the anger resurfacing from the summer. He had been stuck at the Dursleys all summer, kept in the dark about everything that had been happening. He had received no news about Voldemort, or the Death Eaters and he had been in the dark about his parents. His own parents had returned from the dead and he was the last person to find out.

"Yes-"

"Before I did?" His eyes shone with anger but also unmistakably with hurt and pain. "I've been in the dark about everything all bloody summer and now I'm the last person to find out that my parents are back?"

"Harry, we couldn't have written to you, if the owl had been intercepted… And Dumbledore-"

"So it was better to leave me in the dark? All summer, I've gone without a scrap of news- I saw Voldemort come back and then I don't hear _anything_! No one told me _anything_! Then you spring this on me and I'm the last person to know and- what? You expect me to be happy about it?"

"No, Harry, you must be feeling a lot of emotions right now. It isn't easy for us either." It was different, completely different, they couldn't understand. Yes, Remus, Sirius and Emmeline had lost their best friends, people they had known well and had been extremely close with. But Harry had lost his parents and had been left to the Dursleys while his- their daughter had grown up with them, happy and loved.

They said that Lily and James hadn't wanted to leave him, whoever wiped their memories didn't give them a choice, but Harry didn't feel any less abandoned. They left him. While he had faced the Dursleys' abuse and neglect and eventually all sorts of horrors and challenges at Hogwarts, they had been safe and happy. They left him and replaced him.

Then, with horror, he realized that their daughter had just gotten her Hogwarts letter, "She'll be going to Hogwarts this year, right? Their daughter…" He refused to think of the girl as his sister. Perhaps she was his sibling by blood and James and Lily were his parents by blood, but that did not make them his mum and dad nor did it make the girl his sister, those weren't titles he could just give away. Even so, the girl was a Potter and she would undoubtedly be in Gryffindor. He would have to see her all the time, even if he avoided her, with his luck he would run into her anyways.

"Yes."

This set off another realization- they would expect Harry to meet these people before the school year started, wouldn't they? "So I'll have to meet them before then?" The thought of it was overwhelming and made him a bit dizzy and anxious.

"You don't have to do anything, Harry," Remus said kindly. He was always the sensible one, able to make words come together in a way that was comforting. "You can take all the time you need to mull this over." Harry nodded, unable to make eye contact. "We had considered going over there tomorrow, to introduce you…" It was impossible not to notice the panic that crossed Harry's features, "But no pressure, if you don't want to. We'll go when you're ready."

"No," Harry said indifferently, "I don't want to go."

"Okay, take all the time you need." Harry's features relaxed with relief. Remus hesitated before continuing, "Your parents were thinking about making their return public- they wanted to discuss it with you first, of course..."

"What?" The panic in Harry's eyes was back- as if his life wasn't public enough. "Why?"

"Their statements could get me a proper trial and clear my name," Sirius told his godson, but not without a note of bitterness- not directed towards Harry of course, but because he still didn't want James to sacrifice their safety for him and he hadn't won that fight just yet.

"Oh, of course, sorry, Sirius. Erm, yeah. I guess that's fine with me." He ran his hand through his hair nervously, the same way James did.

"We'll tell them," Remus said, his voice still calm and almost tranquil. "We're still going to go over there tomorrow, so if you change your mind just let us know."

"Okay. I will- let you know I mean. Just- just don't get your hopes up." They didn't say anything but they didn't need to, Harry could see they were disappointed and he didn't want to let them down, but he just wasn't prepared to meet his parents just yet. He needed some time to think outside this room. It was suffocating. "I'm going to find Ron and Hermione." His best friends always helped him to see straight.

"Okay, just let us know if you need anything." Harry said he would and left. He wandered out of the room and immediately realized that he had no idea where he was going, where Ron and Hermione could possibly be or even what this house was. He peered down the corridor and at that moment Mrs. Weasley bustled out.

"Oh, Harry," she exclaimed in an excited whisper, her eyes lit up the moment she saw him. "It's so lovely to see you!" She pulled him into a bone-crushing hug which he returned, though stiffly. "You look a bit peaky- I'm sure Lily will put some meat on those bones of yours. I could hardly believe it when I heard, you must be thrilled. Come on, I'll show you upstairs to your room." One of the things he liked about Mrs. Weasley is that she could practically carry on a conversation on her own though it made him uncomfortable to talk about Lily. Harry followed his best friend's mother silently up the dark staircase, past mounted house-elf heads which he tried not to wonder too much about. "I expect you'll be going to see your parents tomorrow-"

"No," he said in a tone that was colder than he intended. "I mean, I just wanted some time…"

She rounded on him but her voice kept its usual kind, motherly tone, "No? Well, I suppose that's to be expected… It must be very hard for you dear, though it's been hard on them too- waking up one day and realizing they missed their son's entire life… They'll be ecstatic to see you whenever you _are_ ready, of course, hopefully they won't be too heartbroken if you don't come tomorrow. They really are wonderful people. And your sister- she is a sweet girl, she'll probably be disappointed if you don't come, but she already worships you… She spent all last night interrogating Ron and Hermione about you. And James and Lily are already so proud of you, they're really dying to meet you." Mrs. Weasley knew exactly where to hit Harry. His stomach dropped with guilt but he couldn't help feeling a little happy and curious- his parents were proud of him? "Anyways, you take all the time you need, dear. It's that door there, on your right. I'll call when dinner's ready."

He crossed the landing, shaking off the guilt and opened the door; there was a loud shriek and Hermione threw herself at him, embracing him tightly. "HARRY! Ron, he's here, Harry's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I'm so sorry, Dumbledore made us swear not to tell- if the owl had been intercepted… And everything about your parents- I can't even imagine how you're feeling right now, but they're really lovely people and Amelia-"

"Let him breathe, Hermione," said Ron, grinning and closing the door behind Harry. Hermione let go of her best friend and something swooped down and landed softly on Harry's shoulder.

"Hedwig!"

"She's been in a right state," said Ron, "Pecked us half to death when she brought your last letters, look at this-" He showed Harry the index finger of his right hand, which sported a half-healed but clearly deep cut.

"Oh yeah," Harry said, "Sorry about that, but I wanted answers… So it's really true, then?"

"Yes, they were here last night, with Amelia." Hermione said hesitantly, unsure of what reaction to anticipate from her friend. "We didn't find out until then- even if we could have written to you about it, it wouldn't have reached you in time. We're so sorry, Harry, we wanted to tell you, please don't be angry," Hermione looked at him, concerned.

"You wanted to tell me," he repeated hollowly. "But I'm still the last to know and you've been here- together- and I've been with the muggles." His temper was getting the better of him again, every horrible thought he had had during his time with the Dursleys began to surface, never mind all the other emotions brewing within him from the news about his parents.

"Dumbledore thought you were safest with the muggles-"

"Yeah?" said Harry, raising his eyebrows until they disappeared under his messy hair. "Have either of you been attacked by dementors this summer?"

"No- Dumbledore was furious- he had people from the Order tailing you all summer, when he found out Mundungus left his shift early- he was so furious, he was scary."

Harry was silent, fuming. He was glad Mundungus left, if he hadn't, Harry wouldn't have done magic and Dumbledore probably would have left him to rot all summer alone. "So why is Dumbledore so keen to keep me in the dark? Why wasn't I told immediately about my parents- Remus and Sirius said it's been days since they started remembering..."

"We only met your parents yesterday, they were still remembering everything before that, I think that's why Dumbledore didn't tell you- he didn't want you to have to deal with parents who scarcely remembered you. He was trying to protect you, I think. " Hermione said, somewhat frantically, losing her normally reasonable tone. "And we wanted to tell you everything we knew, but we couldn't and we don't know that much- we aren't allowed in the meetings-"

"But you've still been here- together!" Harry snapped, sick of their excuses and suddenly, he was shouting. "Why don't I deserve some news? I've been stuck at the Dursleys for a month! I've handled more than the two of you combined and Dumbledore knows it- I saw Voldemort come back, I had to duel him and I had to escape from him! But, what? Dumbeldore thinks I'm too delicate to handle news about Voldemort? The news about my parents?" Harry stopped short here, seeing his friends' faces, Ron with his mouth half open, stunned and at a loss for words while Hermione was on the verge of tears. "My- my parents…" he collapsed to sit on one of the beds, overwhelmed once more.

"Harry, we're so sorry," Hermione said, sitting next to him. "I can't imagine how you must feel- I would be furious if it were me. And just everything with your parents-"

"Just tell me what's been happening." Right now, he didn't want to think about them. He wanted a distraction. But while Ron and Hermione began explaining about Grimmauld Place and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry could hardly focus on their words. His mind kept drifting towards his family then he would snap back to listen to Ron and Hermione, but then lose focus once more. When they had finished recounting the recent news (or lack thereof) regarding Voldemort, Harry finally asked. "And my parents?" He was unable get a more coherent or specific question out.

"We only met them last night. Amelia said that they did some sort of blood ritual that linked the three of you together and it would save all three of you from the killing curse if they were willing to sacrifice their lives for you," Hermione explained, watching Harry's guarded expression carefully, that was basically what Remus and Sirius had told him. He had been so overwhelmed by his anger and frustration and simply the information itself- that his parents were alive- he had nearly forgotten that no matter what, they had been willing to die for him. The thought chilled him to the bone. That was the kind of unconditional love family was about, right?

But then they had abandoned him to live with the Dursleys and they had replaced him with another child, doubt crept its way back in. No. That wasn't right. They hadn't abandoned him, they had been taken from him and without knowing who they were or who they had left behind, they had gotten on with their lives. It wasn't their fault but it wasn't fair. He didn't have anyone else to blame besides James and Lily and their daughter but with so many emotions stirring around inside him he didn't really know what he was feeling. Angry. Confused. Hurt. Happy. Nervous. Afraid.

He wanted with every fiber of his being to hate them. But he couldn't. His curiosity was more powerful than his anger now. He wanted to know them after all these years and hearing so much about them and he wanted to be accepted by them. He wanted the last fourteen years of struggling to disappear and for things to be as they should have been. But that was not possible. He could not go back, he could only move forward and try to create a relationship with them now.

But the girl complicated matters. He didn't know what to make of her. She was his sister, they told him, but Harry knew nothing about being an older brother and he wasn't sure he wanted to. They had grown up in entirely different circumstances- she had grown up loved with their parents and he had grown up neglected by the Dursleys. It wasn't fair for him to hate her and he wasn't really sure if he did. How could he hate a child he had never met? He was tremendously jealous of her childhood really.

"And Amelia is a really sweet girl," Hermione said, as though reading his thoughts. "She wanted to know all about you-"

"We couldn't get her to shut up about you, mate. And I thought Ginny was bad…" Harry's face was a mask. Mrs. Weasley had said that the girl worshiped him already, but he had enough people to worship him. Siblings had a weird sort of bond Harry didn't quite understand. The Weasley children could pick on and tease and annoy and infuriate each other to no end and yet they were so fiercely loyal to one another. Harry knew they would go to the ends of the Earth for each other.

"Are you going to see them tomorrow?" Hermione asked hopefully.

Harry shook his head, "I don't think so."

"Harry, are you serious, mate?" Ron eyed him incredulously, "These are your parents- you've wanted to meet them for as long as I've known you and now that you have the chance-"

"It's a bit different talking about it than actually doing it," Harry said defensively. He never thought he would meet his parents, not until he died anyways. If then, even. The idea of it terrified him beyond words.

"Harry, they've been waiting to meet you, they're really desperate to see you and you'll have to meet them eventually. They're really lovely people, just think about it?"

"Fine," he mumbled, remembering Mrs. Weasley's words as well. These women really knew exactly how to guilt trip him. Would Lily and Amelia be the same? "I'll think about it."

Downstairs, Remus, Sirius and Emmeline sat the way they had a just few days ago, with a bottle of firewhiskey between them. "I _really_ didn't think he would react like that," Emmeline said, taking long a sip of her drink.

"You keep saying that, but after everything he's been through, we can't really be surprised," Sirius told her.

"I just thought he'd be a little bit happy, at least." Remus and Sirius knew him better; they probably had more realistic expectations of Harry's reaction.

"He probably just doesn't want to get his hopes up. He'll come around once he meets them." Just as Sirius had gone from angry and disbelieving to happy and amazed after he was reunited with his best friend.

"We should write them," Remus said. "We can't put it off much longer- they need to know." Sirius and Emmeline nodded but avoided his gaze, neither wanting to be the one to write the letter that would break James and Lily's hearts. But Remus stood and left the room.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Emmeline realized that this was the first time they had really been alone in fourteen years. "Lily and James will clear your name," Emmeline stated simply, she wasn't sure what had made her say it.

"Speaking of not getting hopes up…" He muttered into his drink.

"Sirius-"

"I don't want them to rush into a decision because they feel guilty when I was the one who suggested using Peter in the first place and I was the one who convinced them to do it and I was the one to suggest to keep it secret. It's my own bloody fault that I am in this mess, I don't want James risking his safety, Lily's, Amelia's and Harry's just to fish me out of it."

Emmeline was silent, staring into her drink for a long time while her mind began to wander back in time. She and Sirius had gone on one date during her fifth year at Hogwarts, they hadn't been serious or anything, but they had decided to go on a second date until Emmeline found him snogging a fourth year Hufflepuff in a broom cupboard. She had hexed him profusely and refused to acknowledge his existence for months.

They had tried and failed to start a relationship several times after that during their years at Hogwarts, and finally by the beginning of their seventh year they had nearly lasted five straight months. That had been a difficult time for Emmeline though, she pushed everyone away, Sirius included, picking fights and giving him a cold shoulder until they had broken up after an explosive argument. Eventually they became friends again, brought back together by James and Lily's budding relationship and for a long time they remained just friends.

After Hogwarts, they started to grow closer again, they had both grown up so much that Emmeline had thought they might be able to make it work this time. They had shared a kiss just before the night Lily and James were attacked by Voldemort. But Sirius hadn't told her that Peter was secret keeper, she didn't know, no one knew.

Alice had broken the news to her- that had been the last time Emmeline had seen her friend before the attack on the Longbottoms. She had argued and yelled and begged to see him, then cried with grief and heartbreak. She didn't want to believe it was true, but as the evidence was stacked before her, she found it harder and harder to deny the so-called _facts. _

But she should have been looking at different facts: James was Sirius's brother in all but blood. Sirius was a loyal friend. Sirius had done everything he could to go against his family. Sirius would never have become a Death Eater. Sirius would have never betrayed his friends.

She should have believed in him.

Over the years she learned to forget about Sirius Black. Most of the time, it was easy enough to pretend he didn't exist but sometimes she would lay awake in bed at night thinking about him in Azkaban. If she thought about him, her heart ached and suspicions surfaced. Somewhere, deep down, she knew it couldn't be true. She _knew_ Sirius. But she had not been able to deny the _truths_ that everyone had known and accepted.

When Dumbledore had first approached her about reinstating the Order of the Phoenix, he had explained Sirius's innocence. She had gone home that night hating herself and had experienced sleepless nights and overwhelming guilt ever since. She managed this by avoiding Sirius like the plague, but Lily and James's return reminded her of how things used to be- how they could be again. She wanted them to be friends with Sirius again, or at the very least for their relationship to stop being tense and awkward. She needed to overcome her fear and guilt. She was a Gryffindor, after all.

Finally, she came out with it, "I'm sorry."

Sirius nearly choked on his firewhiskey. "What?" he sputtered.

"I'm sorry." She repeated, her dark eyes meeting his haunted grey ones. "I should have believed you all those years ago. I should have known you would have never betrayed Lily and James and I should have stood by you-"

"I've had this conversation with Moony a hundred times now, Emmeline," he said the words calmly, tiredly almost, never breaking eye contact.

She continued as though he hadn't spoken at all, blinking away tears and glancing downwards. "I just can't believe that I was so quick to believe that you were guilty- you would never betray James and Lily and-"

"I was guilty. If I hadn't suggested Peter as secret-keeper, none of this would have happened." She stopped. He couldn't really believe that after all this time… Sirius had not been a Death Eater. He had not sold Lily and James to Voldemort. It was not his fault.

"Sirius," She said in an almost pleading tone. He looked at her big eyes, starting to fill with tears of mourning for what could have been. He realized only then that she was clutching his hand on the table in her delicate ones. He tried to remember the last time she had touched him, the last time he had felt her skin against his, but he couldn't.

He sighed, "Em, it's not your fault. It was my own stupidity that got me into Azkaban-" she opened her mouth to protest but he stopped her, "And all the evidence pointed to me. I'm sure I would have thought the same of you had our roles been reversed."

She was silent, considering this, but he was wrong. Sirius was too loyal. He wouldn't have thought that she betrayed her friends, he would have stood by her, if their roles had been reversed, which was what made this so much more difficult.

Even if she had spoken out and stood by him, would she have been able to save him from Azkaban with the whole Wizarding world out to get him? There wasn't an answer to that question, she would never really know. While she still felt guilty, the knowledge that Sirius didn't blame her made some of the awkwardness she felt dissipate. Maybe, just maybe… She wouldn't know if things could be as they had once been if she didn't try. "You did act pretty guilty," there was a hint of a smile on her lips and a mischievous- though slightly guarded- look in her eyes.

"_What?_"

"Oh, come on, Sirius," she teased, "Peter blows up the street and kills _twelve muggles_ and you _laughed_. They found you there laughing-"

"I was in shock!" His tone was defensive but there was a lightness in his eyes that hadn't been present much and a smile across his face. "And I had just been bested by Peter bloody Pettigrew!" They both laughed and it could have almost been like old times- teasing one another in the common room of the Gryffindor tower or Lily and James's kitchen and laughing ridiculously as though they didn't have a care in the world.

In a small cottage far away, Lily Potter fidgeted nervously, awaiting the news from her friends regarding her son. "Do you think they've told him yet?"

"I don't know," James said tiredly. It felt as though they had been sitting and waiting for ages, it was nearly midnight now and they still hadn't received an owl. They had sent Amelia to bed, but James didn't doubt that she was lying awake, waiting to hear news of her brother.

When the owl swooped in, James untied the letter frantically.

_Lily and James, _

_Harry is safe and at headquarters, we told him the news, but he does not want to come tomorrow._

James felt his heart sink but he read on.

_He's confused mostly, I think, but he'll come around once he sorts it all out. Padfoot, Em and I will come around two tomorrow afternoon and we can talk more then. _

_Remus_

"He doesn't want to see us," Lily's expression was unreadable, but James knew exactly how she was feeling. Crushed.

"He'll come around," James's voice was hollow and even he didn't believe his own words, but they had to hope.

* * *

Okay, wow, this was a hard chapter to write. How did I do? What do you guys think about Harry's reaction- realistic? Believable? Any feedback is greatly appreciated and I'll take it all into consideration for the next chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

I know I always say this, but you guys completely blew me away with your responses last chapter so a HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed and to everyone reading. You guys are the best.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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When Harry awoke early the next morning, the sun had barely risen and Ron was still snoring. He rubbed his eyes tiredly knowing that he would not be able to fall back asleep but he did not want to get up just yet either. He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling as though it had all the answers.

His sleep had not been restful in the slightest. After tossing and turning for what might have been hours, he fell into a slumber that was plagued by dreams of his parents' sacrifice. It was almost as though a dementor hovered above him while he slept. Over and over, he heard James yelling to Lily, telling her to take Harry and run while he tried to hold Voldemort off to give them a chance at escape. He dreamt of Lily's pleas for her son's life and how Voldemort had struck her down as though he was swatting a fly.

They had been willing to die so that he might live. The thought was chilling but Harry could hardly wrap his head around it. He may have grown up neglected by the Dursleys, but that is not what James and Lily had wanted for him. They could have easily stood down, let Voldemort kill Harry and lived out the rest of their lives with their friends and their memories and more children. But they didn't. They thought Harry was worth dying for and perhaps he owed it to them to meet them.

However, the idea of meeting his parents made his stomach turn with anxiety and in all honesty, he was terrified. But they _were_ his parents. He could face them. Harry was, if nothing else, a Gryffindor. Ever since he was a small child, he had wanted to meet his parents, his aunt and uncle rarely spoke of them and Harry had known better than to ask. Throughout the years, he had accepted that he would never really get to know his parents except through other people's stories, and now that he had the opportunity, he should seize it. But that didn't make it any easier.

James and Lily had still lived happily and safely for fourteen years while Harry had struggled, it wasn't fair. _Life isn't fair_, was a cliché Harry knew well and with no one else to blame, all his anger was focused towards his parents. The years of curiosity he had felt about the people who had given him life was overwhelming though and it somehow overshadowed his anger towards them. If he focused simply on the fact that his parents were alive, he was able to quell the rage when it swelled within him.

But then there was their daughter… She had nothing to do with any of this, she wasn't to blame, she didn't take his parents away from him but somehow it felt like she had. She had the life Harry should have had. She had grown up with their parents when he hadn't and he didn't know if he could stand even being in the same room as her. The thought of her alone made anger and jealousy bubble up inside him and, even though he wouldn't admit it, even to himself, a very, _very_ small part of him was also afraid she might reject him or hate him. However, if he met James and Lily, he would undoubtedly have to meet her. But he would get through it. He would pretend to like her if that's what it took to get to know his parents.

Harry rolled out of bed while his best friend snored on, when he stumbled into the kitchen still bleary-eyed, he hadn't expected many people to be up, and he was right. Only Sirius and Lupin sat in the kitchen, drinking coffee. Lupin was reading the Daily Prophet. Despite the snide remarks about Harry that Hermione had told him the reporters had been slipping into their articles, there was no other place for witches and wizards to get their news.

"Harry!" Sirius greeted him with a smile and a little more enthusiasm than the situation warranted, as though Harry might explode at any moment after the giant bomb that had been dropped on him the previous night. However, Sirius didn't say anything about James and Lily. "How are you feeling?" It wouldn't be fair for him or Remus to bring up James and Lily, if Harry needed time then they would give it to him, he would bring them up when he was ready. Until then, he could ask roundabout, indirect questions in attempt to discern how his godson was feeling about the whole situation.

"I'm alright," Harry replied, collapsing into a chair. "Just been mulling things over…" Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance and leaned towards Harry slightly, watching his expression anxiously. Curious as he was, Harry was still terrified to meet James and Lily- what if they hated him? He knew he would have to meet them eventually so what was the point of putting it off? And there was no doubt in his mind that he would be seeing their daughter everywhere at Hogwarts. He could get it over with now, or put it off indefinitely.

Harry had always been a procrastinator, so why should he change now?

_They were his parents_ and what if he really liked them? If he put off meeting them, he wouldn't have as much time to spend with them before school started again. But on the other hand, what if he met them today and he didn't like them? Or they didn't like him? He would have to spend the rest of the summer avoiding them.

But a relationship with his parents is what he had always wanted- more than anything- so he needed to at least try. Sirius and Remus still watched him expectantly. Harry was going to do it. He blurted the words out quickly before he could change his mind again. "I was thinking that maybe I would come with you guys today… If that's still okay, I mean."

"Yes, of course!" Sirius exclaimed immediately, as though he had been anticipating Harry's words. He had a huge grin on his face and Harry couldn't help but smile back timidly. He drew a deep breath. Today was the day he would meet his parents. His stomach filled with nervous butterflies and he pushed the thought of their daughter out of his mind, as far as he was concerned, for now at least, she did not exist.

"We were planning on going around two," Lupin told him, smiling as well. Harry only had six hours to wait…

Once Hermione, Ron and his siblings had woken up, Mrs. Weasley kept them busy all day cleaning the house. The whole time, Harry's thoughts raced and his stomach churned with his nerves. He couldn't eat anything at lunch he was so anxious and as he prepared to leave, it was on an empty stomach.

Harry Potter had been nervous hundreds of times before, of course, but this was much different. This was not a Quidditch match or a Potions exam. They were his parents, his family. They would accept him, right? The Dursleys were his family too, a pessimistic voice reminded him, but they had never accepted him and had done everything in their power to remind him that he was not one of them. Living with them had never taught him much about what family meant.

He had changed his clothes twice before giving up entirely- all the muggle clothes he owned were old and had been worn by Dudley at some point in time so even now they were at least three sizes too big. He wetted his hair several times and combed it in attempt to make it sit flat, but the more he tried, the less it cooperated. Hermione tried to calm him down and assured him at everything would be alright. His parents wouldn't care what he was wearing, how his hair looked or what he looked like. He assumed she was right, but he was so nervous he needed _something_ to fixate on, even if it was his appearance. He still couldn't make it lie completely flat, but he smoothed his hair down over his scar obsessively so they wouldn't gawk at him the way everyone else did.

A few minutes before two o'clock Harry met Lupin, Sirius and Emmeline downstairs. He was going to side-along apparate with Remus. Harry had never apparated before so he was not prepared for the sensation- he took a firm hold of Lupin's arm and everything around him went black, his body was compacted from all directions and he felt as though his lungs were on the verge of collapsing then quite suddenly it was over. He drank in air as though he had never breathed before, hardly managing to keep his feet. "Alright, Harry? The first time is always rough." He nodded, slow as it might be, he still preferred muggle means of transportation.

Harry regarded his surroundings curiously; they stood outside a small cottage. It was a nice cottage, homey, he decided. It sat in a field that turned into a forest, there were no other buildings or houses in sight and it seemed completely isolated except for the road behind them. His heart fluttered anxiously, "Are you ready to meet your parents, Harry?" Sirius gave his godson a supportive squeeze on the shoulder. Harry could only nod, hardly trusting his voice. With one more glance at his godson, Sirius raised his fist and knocked on the door.

Harry didn't realize he was holding his breath until a moment later when the door was opened by a red-haired woman and all the air in his lungs seemed to escape him. He recognized the woman in the doorway immediately as his mother. Lily Evans Potter. She was older than she had been in any photos he had seen, of course, but it was still her. Her long auburn hair hung around her in loose and wild curls, Harry wondered for a split second if he had gotten at least some of his messy hair genes from her as well as his father. Her features were soft and delicate, covered in freckles that had faded from age. When her emerald eyes met his identical ones, they widened and her lips parted in shock. Sirius had used the Weasleys' elderly owl to send the letter, Harry realized, it was not unlikely that James and Lily had never received it and weren't expecting him.

Lily stared at the boy in amazement- her son. He was real and he was here, she could scarcely believe it. Harry was no longer the baby she remembered and had once carefully cradled in her arms. He was all grown up now- so tall and skinny. Too skinny, she decided. James had always been lanky though well-built but Harry looked half-starved. However, having lived with Petunia all summer Lily didn't doubt that her son _had_ been starved. The nerve of that woman, Lily would need to have a word with her soon.

Harry's hair was as messy as his father's, sticking up all over the place, the same way it had when he was a baby. At first glance, he appeared to be a clone of a fifteen-year-old James, but James's face was a little longer but somehow fuller and Harry's nose was a bit narrower. Her eyes grazed his forehead, searching for the infamous scar, but it was hidden behind the fringe of bangs which he flattened nervously. The only piece of herself she could see in him were his eyes. His eyes were one-hundred-percent hers, emerald green and almond shaped, though somehow they felt weary, as though he had seen too much in his fifteen short years and she knew that he had.

"Harry," she breathed finally. His name seemed to be the only word she knew anymore. Harry, Harry Harry… Where had her brain gone? It took every ounce of will she had to push back her need to throw her arms around her baby and never let him go. But he was no longer a baby and the last thing she wanted to do was frighten him. He stared back at her, their identical eyes were locked but she was unable to read the emotions his eyes expressed. Fear? "C-come in," she stepped aside, her senses finally began to return. She couldn't very well let them stand on the doorstep all day. Her eyes never left her son as he crossed the threshold. He ran his hand through his hair nervously, the way James always did, and only then did she glimpse the scar. For a split second she saw the jagged mark on his forehead before he quickly flattened his bangs down again.

Harry fidgeted nervously, looking anywhere but at his mother and Lily realized that she was staring and probably frightening him. She should say something, but what? She had dreamt of this moment for days and now that it was actually here she didn't know what to do. She had imagined their first meeting dozens of times, what they would say and do but now she couldn't remember what she had thought might happen. James would know what to say. "Your dad is coming," the words spilled out of her, Harry's eyes met hers once more but his face remained a dazed mask. "He's been trying to find Amelia, she wandered off at some point this morning and we haven't been able to find her since. We thought she would want to be here when everyone came so she'll probably turn up eventually. She's always running off, she is far too much like her father, always-"

"Harry?" James's voice cut Lily's rant short, she sighed with relief. She had the tendency to ramble when she got nervous. For the first time since his arrival, her eyes left her son and found James. He stood frozen in his spot, gazing at Harry with the same shocked and amazed expression Lily had worn plastered to his face. Harry swallowed as he stared at James, blinking several times as though to make sure the man standing before him was real, not just an illusion.

They should get settled in the living room, Lily decided and maybe Harry would relax and they could talk and get to know their son. He hadn't said a word since she had opened the door, she realized. "Come on," she smiled at her son. It felt so natural to reach out and touch his arm gently, but when she did, Harry flinched away violently and took a step backwards, away from his mother. Lily recoiled, stunned and wounded; she hadn't expected him to react like that. Her son did not want his own mother to touch him, the realization was painful beyond words and she struggled to mask the hurt expression she knew polluted her features.

Harry couldn't stop his hands trembling and he couldn't stop thinking that he was standing in the same room as his parents. His _dead_ parents- well, his parents whom he had believed to be dead for fourteen years. It was really them. They were not the Death Eaters he had half-expected to meet when they arrived. Once the utter shock of it all had begun to wear off, Harry simply felt overwhelmed. It was all just too much, he hadn't been ready for this, he hadn't been prepared. The walls seemed to be closing in on him and he could scarcely breathe as a suffocating and claustrophobic sensation overtook him. His instincts told him he needed to get out. Now.

The rhythm of Harry's heart increased until one heartbeat was hardly distinguishable from the next, adrenaline fueled him and the only thing that was clear was that he needed to get out. He took a few more steps backwards, away from his mother and his eyes travelled between his parents frantically. Both of their faces were etched with pain and confusion. A sweltering heat rose through his neck and cheeks, the room continued to get smaller. He reached behind him as he stepped back, groping for the doorknob. When he found it he thrust the door open and without another glance at the two people who had given him life, he turned and ran. Someone yelled his name but he scarcely noticed as he put more and more distance between himself and the little cottage.

Sirius started to go after him as he tore through the field. "Harry! HARRY!" he called, but his godson did not acknowledge him in the slightest and Sirius watched him disappear into the forest. He would be back, he would just need a few minutes to calm down away from everyone and he would come back, Sirius was certain.

Inside, Lily stared at the place her son had been standing just a moment ago, looking as though she had been slapped. She held her hand up, partially covering her gaping lips, her emerald eyes shone with tears and she could only breathe in short shaky breaths. Everyone was silent, and it felt like an eternity before she was able to speak again. "Should we- should we go after him?" Her son had run away from her. It felt like rejection but a tiny, sensible voice in the back of her head reminded her that he was confused, shocked and overwhelmed. He probably needed some time to think.

"He'll be back," Remus assured her. Harry wouldn't have run if he hadn't wanted to be alone at least for a little while. It was all a lot to process, it would take time. If he didn't come back soon, they could go look for him but he most likely just needed a few minutes to cool down first.

"He'll come around, we just need to give him a few minutes." Sirus agreed, "And if it makes you feel better, the first time I met Harry, he threatened to kill me." Lily tried to muster up a weak smile but failed. She would make tea, she decided, so if he came back it would be there waiting for him. And for now, she could hide in the kitchen for a few minutes while trying to mask her disappointment and heart break from her friends.

Harry sprinted through the field, away from the cottage, towards the forest and he kept running when he broke through the line of trees. He didn't have to run much further than that before he felt safe and he finally stopped, breathing hard. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and pulled at it in frustration. He was a Gryffindor. A _Gryffindor_, for Merlin's sake. _Where dwell the brave at heart_. Gryffindors faced their fears and danger and they _did not_ run away. He was acting like a coward and Harry was no coward.

During his fifteen short years, he had faced and survived Voldemort on several occasions. He had battled dementors. He had slain a basilisk. He had gotten past a dragon. He had fallen a hundred feet from his broom. He had encountered a bludgeoning tree. He had faced the Dursleys and their cruelty and neglect, Snape and his taunts, the Forbidden Forest and all its dangers. He had flown a car to school, met centaurs and giant spiders and, not to mention, faced a three-headed dog.

But Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and the Savior of the Wizarding World could not face his own parents.

He kicked a tree and made a noise of combined anger and frustration.

"What did that tree ever do to you?" A small voice from behind him asked impishly. Harry spun around to face the speaker, wand in hand, but the instant he saw her, he knew exactly who she must be. She looked to be about eleven, actually, he knew for a fact that she was eleven. She had long red hair like her mother and resembled her in other ways too- her nose, her ears, the general shape of her face, but at second glance, there was a lot of James in her as well.

She leaned up against a tree casually and _smirked_ at him, the expression could have only been passed down through genetics from her father. Harry gaped at her, dumbstruck and at a loss for words. "You must be Harry," her smirk morphed into a friendly smile but he still could not find words to say so he kept staring, unsure of what to make of this unexpected encounter. "So, why did you run off?" she asked innocently after a few long moments of silence.

He blinked and stared dumbly at her, still in shock, but finally he managed to say, "I felt claustrophobic." She was just a little girl, not some monster who had taken his parents away from him. It had been so much easier to hate her before he had actually seen her, but she was just an innocent child without a care in the world. She had never known fear the way Harry had, she had never been in a deadly situation or faced monsters or dark wizards. She was completely innocent and carefree. It wasn't fair, but it wasn't exactly her fault. She didn't say anything in response immediately but she nodded understandingly. "Why did _you_ run off?" Harry heard himself ask her.

The little girl smiled slyly, "I was disappointed when I heard I wasn't going to meet my big brother today." The words were like a punch to the stomach, hitting him hard. It hadn't really sunk in before that he was someone's brother, but now it did. He was this little girl's brother, whatever that meant, he wasn't really sure. Was DNA enough to make him her brother? "I bet you're scared," she said softly, when he didn't reply right away. She wasn't mocking him; she just wanted to let him know she sympathized. He looked back, bewildered. "It isn't a bad thing," she assured him, taking a cautious step towards her brother. "They're really scared too."

"Really?" It was hard to imagine his parents being afraid of him or anything. Even as a child when the only thing the Dursleys had ever told him about his parents was that they were worthless drunks, he had idolized them because how could his parents be any worse than his aunt and uncle? When he was eleven and found out who they really were, he had built them up as fearless and flawless heroes in his head- they couldn't really be afraid of him, could they?

The little girl nodded, "They're afraid that you'll hate them."

Harry had been angry and frustrated of course, but he couldn't really hate James and Lily. At the end of the day, they were still his parents and he was desperate to get to know them. It was just a difficult and strange situation. "It's just hard… It's hard to know that all those years I was at the Dursleys' they were here. They were alive the whole time and I could have…" he trailed off, unsure of where he was going with that.

"They must have been bad," she said softly.

"I've had worse," he responded evenly, looking her in the eye. After all, what were the Dursleys compared with Voldemort, basilisks and dragons?

"Ron and Hermione told me about a lot of the things you did at Hogwarts," she offered, sensing that he didn't want to talk about the Dursleys or his childhood.

_She already worships you_, Mrs. Weasley said, Harry felt a pang as he remembered her words. "I didn't do all of that alone," he insisted, "I had a lot of help."

"We could help you too, you know," her voice was gentle and Harry found her reassurances to somehow quell his fears at least slightly. "We're your family." There was that word again. Family. Harry still didn't really know what _family_ meant. The Dursleys were his family by blood, but they had rejected him and kept him shut up in a cupboard for ten years. The Weasleys were his adopted family, they loved each other fiercely but Harry could never really be one of them, no matter how much he wanted to. And the Potters… Would he be able to become one of them or would they reject him like the Dursleys? Surely they would accept him, but he still feared that they would not. "Do you want to go back?" He was silent, considering the offer. He would have to eventually and he found himself slightly less nervous than he had been. "It'll be okay, I promise. They don't bite." Amelia smiled reassuringly at her big brother.

Harry looked into the little girl's hopeful hazel eyes and hesitantly said, "Okay, then."

"Okay!" She grinned up at him and grasped his hand which surprised him considerably. What surprised him more, however, was that he did not pull away. He let the little girl drag him back to the cottage, chatting energetically about this or that, mostly repeating some of the tales Ron and Hermione had told her. When they got to the door she still held his hand in hers. "Ready?" He made no response as he stared wide-eyed at the door, paralyzed with fear once more. Apparently, she took his silence for affirmation and she pushed the door open, still dragging Harry behind her. "I found Harry!" Amelia announced to the adults who were sitting in the living room.

"Harry!" James said the moment he saw his son, standing. Lily followed the suit, her eyes still brimming with tears. "Y-you came back."

Harry gave James a small smile, trying to avoid looking at Lily, her teary eyes made him feel a bit uncomfortable and guilty. "I didn't have much of a choice," he glanced significantly at Amelia who mocked offense. James and Lily stared at him, unsure of how to respond, still shocked at the presence of their son. "I-I'm sorry I ran off," Harry said.

"Oh, no, Harry, it's completely fine, totally understandable," James replied very, very quickly, running his hand through his hair anxiously. Harry realized that he had the same nervous tick. "Would you like to sit?" Harry nodded mutely and took a seat next to Sirius who clapped his godson on the shoulder supportively. Then, awkward silence filled the room.

This had been a huge mistake, Harry thought in a wild moment of panic. He could have hidden out in the woods indefinitely, right? He wasn't prepared for this. He shouldn't have come here in the first place; he had no idea what to say or what they could possibly be thinking. They were probably regretting it too. They probably hated him. Why had he thought this was a good idea? He nervously ran his hand through his hair for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Lily was also at a complete loss for words. She just stared at her son. Harry surely hated them. She couldn't think of anything to say and she was ruining everything. She had so many questions and she wanted so badly to get to know him but she couldn't find any words. Harry would never want to come back after this. She wouldn't be surprised if he walked out and she never saw him again. This was a disaster.

"So," Sirius said abruptly, making them all jump a little, taking the task of creating conversation upon himself since no one else seemed capable. "Harry is brilliant at flying."

"Really?" James's eyes lit up with his smile. He had heard this already, of course, but now he could hear about his son's flying talent from Harry himself.

Harry shrugged, "I'm alright." He knew that James had been Quidditch captain when he had been at Hogwarts, it was common ground and that eased his fears and nerves a bit. He could talk about Quidditch all day long if he had to.

"Alright?" Sirius scoffed. "Youngest seeker in a century- you're better than _"alright"_. Tell them about your first match." Harry hesitated, gathering courage, before tentatively telling them about his first match against Slytherin. As he went on, he grew more confident, explaining how he had nearly fallen to his death when Quirrell bewitched his broom and he still had somehow managed to catch (nearly swallow) the snitch. James was particularly enthralled with the story, as was Amelia. Lily looked slightly green, sick from worry even though she could clearly see that Harry had survived the experience with all his limbs intact.

"That's brilliant!" James exclaimed when he was finished, Harry smiled warily at him. "Completely brilliant- and a first year on the team- that is completely unheard of. I need to see you in action." Harry's smile widened- he wanted to see James up in the air as well, only ever having heard of his father's ability on a broom.

Lily however was frowning, "I don't understand- why did Ron and Hermione think it was Severus jinxing the broomstick?" Severus was her friend- shouldn't he have been helping Harry? She would need to speak to him very soon.

"Because he's a biased git, the worst teacher I've ever had and he's hated me since the moment he saw me," Harry grumbled bitterly. James shot a worried glance at Sirius. His son was a walking reminder of his father and his immature bullying and pranks that were often directed at Snape. If Snape hated Harry, it was entirely his fault.

"Severus?" Lily's frown deepened though Harry couldn't understand why, or why Lily was referring to Snape by his first name. He had always known that Snape hated him because of James and that they hadn't gotten along when they were in school together. He had always assumed that Snape's hated extended to Lily as well- had he been wrong?

Sirius only had to see Lily and Harry's mutual confusion to realize that a change of subject was in order. The last thing Harry needed was to find out that his least favorite teacher had been his mother's childhood best friend. All that shock in one day might kill the poor boy so he diverted the conversation smoothly. "You should have seen Harry on his broom during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament." Harry didn't mention that Sirius hadn't seen him at the tournament either. "The Durmstrang champion is a professional Quidditch player and- well, you tell it, Harry."

"I just summoned my broomstick. Krum didn't think to do it." Harry shrugged modestly.

"To get past a dragon," Amelia added, Ron and Hermione had told her and needless to say, she was impressed. A week ago, she hadn't believed dragons existed and now she knew that her big brother had faced one.

"A dragon?" Lily raised an eyebrow; Amelia had mentioned it before, and she had been simultaneously curious and worried but she wanted to hear the story from her son.

Harry nodded, "It was the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. We had to retrieve a golden egg from the dragon that was guarding it. We all had a different dragon- I got the Hungarian Horntail. All I did was summon my Firebolt and flew around the dragon to get the egg."

"Aren't Hungarian Horntails really vicious?" Lily asked, there was a crease between her eyebrows from worry and decided she would not be surprised if later she found her first grey hairs.

Harry only shrugged, "I got past it in once piece."

That didn't make Lily worry any less, noticing her look, Sirius tried to distract her. "Tell them about the egg, Harry." So, still guardedly, Harry explained the egg, the shrieking noise it made when he opened it out of water, how Cedric had told him what to do with it and what it said. He continued to tell them how he and his friends worked hard to find a solution but Harry was saved last minute by Neville's extensive knowledge of plants. Lily shook her head at him when he told them how he had waited for all the other champions to get their loved ones and how he had rescued Fleur Delacour's sister as well as Ron.

He had started to talk about the third task but he became more and more hesitant the further into the story he got. Sirius again tried to guide the conversation in another direction for which Harry was grateful. Everything with Voldemort and Cedric was still too recent to talk about with anyone, especially strangers. Lily and James, while they were his parents, were essentially strangers to Harry. However, when he thought briefly about that night at the graveyard he realized something and needed to ask about it.

"When I dueled Voldemort…" He spoke carefully, studying James and Lily's worried expressions and wondering vaguely if he should be talking about such things in front of Amelia. He quickly shook off the strange need to protect her. "Something happened. I cast a disarming spell and Voldemort cast the killing curse and the spells sort of struck each other in the middle and connected our wands. They're twins, our wands, they share the same core, feathers from the same phoenix, Dumbledore said.

"When they connected, Priori Incantatem happened and- and the echoes of the last people Voldemort had murdered came out of his wand, like ghosts…" James and Lily stared at him, willing him to continue but now he avoided making eye contact with either of them. "I saw you. Both of you came out of his wand. But I don't understand how that would happen if you weren't really dead." A voice of doubt whispered to him that this was all a trick. It was too good to be true and these people were not and could not be his parents. His parents were dead and miracles like this didn't happen. These people were Death Eaters.

Lily had been the expert on the blood ritual they had performed, James had trusted her judgment and understood it well enough to know what was required of him and what the results would be. Lily had done all the research and knew all the risks and possible outcomes. And while she had only ever read about Priori Incantatem in the way Harry had described, the idea of it was fascinating, in theory, but of course not when it concerned her son and Voldemort.

Lily began to explain, "For the blood ritual to work James and I both had to take the killing curse fully, we were essentially dead for a very short time, until Voldemort turned his wand on you. When that happened, Voldemort's wand must have captured our echoes and that's why we appeared in the graveyard. But because killing curse rebounded off you and destroyed Voldemort's body, therefore his wand didn't capture you as an echo, so I would guess that's why you saw us but didn't see yourself in the graveyard." Harry hadn't gotten the full force of the killing curse like James and Lily had, that had been the whole point of the ritual.

"So does that mean I can never be killed by the killing curse?" Harry asked, his brow furrowed, it didn't seem right but he half-hoped he could take Voldemort by surprise with this.

"No," Lily told him. "Not unless James and I take killing curses for you again." Harry shifted uncomfortably at this, avoiding eye contact with his parents once again. The confidence in Lily's voice assured him that they would willingly take killing curses for him again, if it came down to that. "Then I suppose the whole thing would happen over again, though hopefully without the amnesia." It was too soon to make the joke Lily realized when she saw everyone's slightly horrified expressions. "It would work with Amelia too now, but it will break when each of you comes of age."

Harry nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on his hands clasped on his knees, a mixture of guilt and grief filled him as he considered his parents' sacrifice and its implications. "We never wanted to leave you, Harry." Lily's voice was suddenly quiet, she felt the overpowering need to explain, to reassure him that they loved him and that they hadn't meant for any of this to happen. His eyes snapped up to meet hers. "We didn't want you to grow up with the Dursleys. They- they didn't treat you well, did they?" Harry made no response, just looked to Sirius in a panic. "I-I'm so sorry, Harry." Her eyes were full of tears.

The walls were closing in on him again and Harry felt the uncontrollable need to flee once more. He did not want to be responsible for making his mother cry- especially on their first meeting and he didn't want her to be sad or feel sorry for him. He did not want her pity. It wasn't her fault, his reasonable side kept telling him, but at the same time he needed to blame her. Petunia was her sister, after all. Harry stood abruptly, "I think we should get back to headquarters." His voice was entirely void of emotion and his features gave no clue as to what he was feeling or thinking.

"I-I'm sorry," Lily said, frantically mopping her eyes with her sleeve, standing as well. "You don't have to leave. Stay for dinner." Her eyes were desperate and begging him to stay but he couldn't. Anger was beginning to creep its way back in and he did not want to ruin this with his temper.

"No," he said, his voice was harsher than he had meant it to be, he took a deep breath before continuing. "I mean, I should just get back. Mrs. Weasley is expecting me back for dinner, I think…" Harry ruffled his hair nervously, entirely aware that the excuse was the stupidest, most pitiful excuse he could have come up with, but thankfully no one pointed this out. They all understood how overwhelming this must be for him.

"Of course," James said reasonably with a kind smile. Lily was infinitely grateful that James was able to at least pretend to be holding it together for their son. Having two parents fall apart would probably be too much for Harry to handle. James was scarcely keeping himself from unraveling though, he desperately wanted to bombard Harry with questions- when would he be back? When could they see him again? Waiting until tomorrow would be far too long but he didn't want to pressure him or scare him away. Instead he just calmly asked, "We'll see you soon?" Harry nodded without giving a straight answer.

At the door, Lily looked Harry over again, beaming proudly. "I'm so glad you came today, Harry." Mutely, he nodded, unable to trust his voice. Lily gazed at the young man her baby had grown into and was unable to control herself anymore. She threw her arms around her son and pulled him close into a crushing embrace, wanting to keep him there, safe in her arms forever. Harry did not embrace her back, he stood stiffly even when she released him, his eyes were wide with shock.

James acknowledged his son's expression and ignored the intense urge to hug Harry as well, to hold onto him and never let go. He would not risk scaring Harry off and Lily's reaction, while understandable, seemed to have frightened him a bit. Instead, he settled for squeezing Harry's shoulder supportively and flashing him a kind smile. Amelia, however, did not get the hint and threw her arms around her brother's waist briefly. He did not embrace her back either but he did awkwardly pat her back.

Harry said quiet goodbyes and remained bewildered and anxious up until the moment they arrived back in the entry hall of Grimmauld Place. Only then did the giant ball of tension that had been wound up inside him relax.

"Feeling alright, Harry?" Sirius asked, watching his godson's expression carefully.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright," he said distantly, not quite making eye contact.

"Want some food? It smells like Molly is cooking something…" If Harry wanted to talk about it, he would. He was a teenage boy after all, they didn't tend to talk about their feelings. There was no need trying to force it out of him. The three adults started towards the kitchen.

"Sirius, can I ask you something?" Harry asked suddenly, shifting nervously.

"Of course, Harry," the three adults exchanged glances but Remus and Emmeline continued on to the kitchen without them. Harry remained silent until they disappeared through the door.

He ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up wildly. "It's stupid… But I just- I was thinking that I don't really know what to call them, my parents, I mean. I know they're my parents, and I should call them Mum and Dad but I just feel like them just being my parents doesn't really make them my Mum and Dad, if that makes any sense. I just think it takes more than that to make them family and at this point, they're strangers, really. I was just wondering- would it be weird for me to call them by their first names? At least, for now? I feel like they almost need to earn the right to be called Mum and Dad… Not earn, exactly, I don't know if that's the right word…"

"Harry, it's alright," Sirius cut off his rambles calmly. This was a dilemma, it would be difficult, of course, for James and Lily to deal with Harry not calling them Mum and Dad, but they would get over it. They wanted Harry to be happy and comfortable with them and being forced to call his parents Mum and Dad before he was ready would make him very uncomfortable. Eventually, Harry would probably be able to, just not yet. "I think you could just call them James and Lily for now. Or if you wanted to just avoid calling them anything until you're ready, that would be okay too."

Harry nodded, he could do that. If everything went well, maybe he could eventually work his way up to calling them Mum and Dad. "Okay. Thanks. I think I'm going to find Ron and Hermione."

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything else." Harry said he would, then ascended the stairs quickly, passing the creepy mounted house-elf heads and when he entered the bedroom, he found Ron and Hermione in nearly the same positions they had been in the when he left.

"Harry!" Hermione greeted him as he collapsed to sit on the edge of his bed, feeling thoroughly drained. "Well, how _was_ it?" Hermione watched him, eagerly awaiting an answer and a description of every detail of his visit.

He sighed and ruffled his hair. "Weird. It was really weird." Then he told them everything, from running away and meeting Amelia in the woods, to talking about Quidditch, the Tournament, Priori Incantatem, the Dursleys and even his conversation with Sirius about what he should call them. "I shouldn't have reacted like that when the Dursleys came up. I don't know what came over me," he said regretfully. "They probably hate me."

"Don't be ridiculous, Harry," Hermione's voice was sharp, but not unkind. It was the voice she often used to knock sense into him or Ron. "I think it went very well, considering."

Harry made a face, "Hermione, I ran away."

"Yes," she said calmly, "But you came back. That's what matters. And you talked to them- honestly it would be completely understandable for you to be so angry at them that you didn't want to talk to them let alone see them. I think you did really well."

"Well I am angry at them," he said, frustrated. "I'm just more curious than I am angry, I suppose."

"That's also understandable," Hermione nodded. "What did you think about Amelia?"

Harry shrugged, "I wanted to hate her. I hate the idea of her, I guess and I hate that she got to grow up with them and I didn't. But I can't really hate _her_. I don't know, it's weird. I can't pinpoint how I feel." He liked Amelia, which was unexpected, but he still couldn't help but feeling bitter- she had gotten the childhood Harry should have had.

"You don't have to, Harry. Just feel what you feel and do what feels right." Harry nodded in agreement, if there was anything he had learned over the years, it was to listen to Hermione.

* * *

So, there you have it! Harry met his parents. What do you think? How was Harry's reaction? This chapter was SO hard to write. I really couldn't see Harry just walking in and meeting his parents and just sitting down with them right away and spilling his life story. I also had the idea of Harry meeting Amelia away from their parents in the woods like that tormenting me for literally weeks. Obviously Harry has a lot of complex emotions about Amelia (and his parents) but I think meeting her out of context and away from James and Lily really kept Harry from flat out hating her, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on that!

I've been hardcore struggling with the next chapter (so if there's anything specific you guys want to see, let me know!) but I think I've started to work it out so hopefully it won't be too long of a wait for that. I really appreciate all your feedback (even though I'm _terrible_ at replying to reviews- sorry, sorry, sorry!) but a lot of your comments last time helped me shape this chapter so thank you all again!


	10. Chapter 10

Hello lovely readers! As usual, you guys are amazing. This chapter didn't even exist when I posted the last one, but with a bit of encouragement from you guys and the fact that this story literally will not leave me alone (it won't even let me sleep) I managed to write it! But as always, writing was the easy part and editing was the hard part. I'm considering finding a Beta, any takers? Anyways, thank you to everyone who reviewed and everyone reading (and favoriting and following) I seriously appreciate it all!

Disclaimer: I STILL do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

Once again, Harry had trouble sleeping. Really, he should have been used to it by now. After he met his parents, he found himself lying in bed replaying the day over and over in his head. At some points, he cringed internally, remembering his behavior- how he had run off or how he had nearly lost his temper over the Dursleys. However, some of the memories made him smile- meeting Amelia in the woods and talking with his dad about Quidditch, even the awkward hug from his mother. Smiling or cringing there was one thing he was certain of- he wanted to see them again.

He could scarcely believe it, it still seemed too good to be true and he was not over the shock just yet. He had met his parents. It was incredible. It was a miracle that he had never thought possible- he had been given the only thing he had ever wanted, his parents. Lily had been absolutely nothing like her sister, a huge relief for Harry. And while similarities could be drawn between her and Mrs. Weasley (there was something simply _motherly_ about both of them) Lily was also completely different. She was _his_ mother. And his father, James, had been everything Harry could have dared to hope for, he was almost exactly as Sirius and Remus had described him.

It was still very strange to think about Amelia and the fact that she was his sister. The concept of having a sibling was difficult for him to wrap his head around, the closest thing he had ever had to a brother or sister was Dudley and their relationship wasn't exactly what Harry considered normal for siblings. When he put aside his jealousy towards Amelia, he wanted to get to know her and perhaps they could eventually really be siblings, the way the Weasleys were. While the situation was still completely overwhelming, Harry was genuinely relieved and happy to have met his parents and Amelia.

However, all the happiness and excitement he felt was tainted by the dread that rolled in his stomach and sat like a weight in the back of his mind, cruelly reminding him that this was quite possibly the best thing that had ever and could ever happen to him. The only thing that could hold a candle to his parents' return was when he had left the Dursleys for Hogwarts. While it was a blessing and a miracle, unfortunately, he was Harry Potter and most good things in his life seemed to come with a price.

As a child, being free of the Dursleys meant spending time with the dreaded Mrs. Figg and her dozens of cats and any time something made him happy Dudley, Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia were sure to take it from him. Getting away from the Dursleys and going to Hogwarts when he was eleven had made him happier than he ever dreamt possible but with the discovery of magic came unexpected and unwanted fame and a dark wizard who was determined to kill him.

Eventually, having accepted that he would never know his parents, he found out that he had a godfather during his third year and had thought that his days at the Dursleys would surely come to an end. But that good news was also ruined by the fact that Sirius would always be on the run from the law. That same year, they had finally gotten a new Defense teacher who taught Harry so much and had known his parents too but was forced to leave because of his affliction. The previous year he had gotten to attend the Quidditch World Cup only to be attacked by Death Eaters. Similarly, their seemingly competent Defense professor turned out to have developed an elaborate plot to get Harry killed by Voldemort.

It seemed like any good thing that Harry had ever experienced in his life had an equally bad thing attached to it, like two sides of a coin. How long would it be before this shred of happiness was torn away from him? A day? A week? A month? It would happen, of that he had no doubt. He just wasn't sure what to do about that. If his family was sure to be ripped from his grasp sooner or later, should he even make the effort to get to know them? Should he take advantage of the time he had with his parents while he still could and hope that it would last? Or should he protect himself from undoubtedly getting hurt?

These were the thoughts that tormented Harry as he fell asleep and again when he awoke early the next morning. When he couldn't stand it anymore, he sprung out of bed and wandered downstairs long before Ron opened his eyes. He had hoped to find Sirius or Remus in the kitchen again so maybe he could express his fears to them, but instead, he found Mrs. Weasley sipping a cup of tea and scrutinizing the Daily Prophet. "Harry," she smiled warmly at him. "How are you, dear? Can I get you some breakfast?"

"No thank you, Mrs. Weasley. I'm not really hungry yet," he replied, sitting down across from her. He knew that when everyone else was awake, she would cook a massive breakfast and pile food on his plate for being too skinny. Not that he minded, his stomach just felt a bit queasy and he didn't want her to go out of her way for only him. "I just couldn't sleep." It was pretty early, Mr. Weasley must have just gone to work.

"I understand," she said, nodding, "You did have quite an overwhelming day yesterday." Unlike Sirius and Remus, Molly did not think that all Harry needed a bit of space to think. And she did not think that he would just come out and talk about his parents and his sister and his feelings when he was ready to. While both Sirius and Remus had once been teenage boys, Molly had _raised_ several teenage boys and she knew that sometimes, they needed to talk and didn't even know it or they were too stubborn to admit it. She also knew exactly how to make them talk. Molly Weasley was practically an expert at extracting information from her sons, which was an invaluable skill when dealing with Fred and George.

However, Harry was not her son.

When he nodded distractedly in response Molly pursed her lips in deliberation. _If_ Harry were her son, this is where she would push him. This is where she would try to get him to talk to her. But he was not Harry Weasley, he was Harry Potter. She knew that Lily and James desperately wished they could have raised Harry in the loving home that he deserved. They wanted to be there for Harry more than anything and they would be in a heartbeat, if he let them. However, it had been Molly who helped Harry through the barrier at Platform nine-and-three-quarters. It had been Molly who sent Harry sweets for his birthday and Weasley sweaters for every Christmas. And it had been Molly who had worried year after year for Harry's penchant for trouble and his safety nearly as much as she worried for her own children. Harry was as good as her own child and she was doing him (and his parents) a disservice if she didn't at least try to help him, she finally decided with absolute certainty. Now, it was time to push him. "When will you see them again?"

It was a simple enough question but Harry had to consider it carefully. James had asked if they would see him soon, but they hadn't discussed it further. What if they didn't want to see him again? He thought in panic.

No. They probably just didn't want to push him or frighten him. Like approaching a skittish deer in the forest, James and Lily would have to approach him slowly, but he would also have to move towards them.

Sirius and Remus hadn't discussed seeing James and Lily again, but Harry hadn't brought it up either. He had been far too overwhelmed and drained the previous night to even consider seeing his family again. But now, he was curious and if anything, he wanted to make sure that he hadn't completely messed things up the previous day. Even if this was at some point torn away from him, at least he would have a few memories of his parents.

Anyways, when he had been kept awake the previous night by the thoughts and memories of the day, Harry had realized that they had only talked about him. He hadn't even thought about asking his parents or Amelia questions about their lives as muggles and he realized that he actually had no idea of what James and Lily had actually been doing for fourteen years. The thought of his parents living happy and carefree lives without him was a bitter one that caused anger to bubble up inside him again, but it also filled him with curiosity. Some part of him wanted to know how his life could have been under different circumstances, no matter how painful it was.

"I'm not really sure…" He answered after what felt like an eternity. "We hadn't really discussed it."

Mrs. Weasley nodded understandingly once more. Harry was not her son but after twenty-five years of raising sons, she could see right through him. All he needed was a little push in the right direction and the rest would work itself out. "Do you want to see them again soon?"

"Yes," Harry's answer came with a firmness and urgency that surprised even him.

"Why don't you write to them, then?" If Molly didn't push him the way she might her own child, Harry would only waste time over thinking things and waiting for someone else to suggest a visit. She had always tried to show Harry as much love as she could, knowing he hadn't received any from his aunt and uncle, but that was his family's place now. Another visit would surely help Harry to accept them and after everything she had heard about the previous day, James and Lily were most likely in desperate need for a bit of reassurance too.

"I-" Harry started but broke off, unable to find a good reason not to write them. He _did_ have a reason even though he would not say it. He wanted to see them again but he was still afraid that perhaps they would not want to see him. _They're scared too,_ Amelia had told him with strangely more wisdom than any eleven-year-old ought to have. Was it possible that they were as frightened of being rejected as Harry was? Amelia did know their parents better and they had only been positive (though cautious) towards him the previous day but that did not mean they could not or would not still reject him. But as Harry remembered the confidence with which Lily had spoken about dying for Harry all over again he was certain they would want to see him again. Or fairly certain anyways. Certain enough to want to write to them.

"Harry," Mrs. Weasley told him firmly but kindly, the boy needed to be reassured now. "They are your parents- they love you and desperately want to get to know you. They would be here right now with you if they weren't afraid to overwhelm you. If you ask them to come, they will drop everything and be here faster than you can blink." Harry considered this- he had never really known that kind of love or dedication but as a mother, Mrs. Weasley knew the lengths a parent would go to for their child. Would he know this dedication too now? However, before he could form a response, Mrs. Weasley stood and began rummaging through a drawer. "You should write to them." She pulled out a sheet of parchment, a quill and ink and set them in front of her all but adopted son.

He wanted to, he truly did. Obediently, Harry uncapped the ink and held the quill in his hand but he realized that he didn't even know where to start. He had never written a letter to his parents before. What would he write? How could he even address it? To James and Lily, probably. Or James, Lily and Amelia, he decided. That would work. He dipped the quill in the ink and began.

_Dear James, Lily and Amelia,_

He started the letter but stopped. He had never been exactly eloquent with his words, Hermione would know exactly what to write. But, Harry? No. He didn't have a clue. He looked to Mrs. Weasley for help. "You could invite them for dinner tonight, if you'd like," she assured him kindly. "Sirius and Remus will be there, so will Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny and Arthur of course too. We could also invite Emmeline…" Harry nodded, the casual setting of dinner with the Weasleys would make things easier, dinners with them were never quiet or awkward. And if it ended up being a total disaster, Ron and Hermione would be there to distract him. Carefully, he considered his words then began writing.

* * *

_Tap, tap, tap_.

Amelia groaned loudly and rolled over, smashing her pillow over her ear in attempt to block out the noise and squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep.

_Tap, tap, tap._

What _was_ that? She pinched her eyes shut tight but that didn't help to block out the sound. She was awake now and there was nothing that could be done about that but that didn't mean she had abandon the warmth of her bed.

_Tap, tap, tap._

With another angry groan, she threw her pillow to the floor and sat upright, trying to find the source of the incessant tapping noise. Perched on her windowsill was a snow white owl with a letter attached to its leg. Her annoyance dissipated as her heart leapt with excitement and she was awake instantaneously. Another letter. Could it be from Hogwarts again?

She jumped out of bed and threw the window open. The owl soared right in and landed on her desk chair. Excitedly, she untied the letter, it was addressed to her and her parents, the messy scrawl resembled her dad's in a way. She wasn't sure if her parents were still asleep, but the letter _did_ have her name on it too. It was as much her letter as it was theirs so she tore it open. As she read through it a huge smile spread across her lips and she burst out of her bedroom full of excitement.

Sure enough, her parents sitting in the dining room, eating breakfast and drinking coffee. "There's a letter!" she exclaimed, the white owl followed her from the bedroom and swooped down to land softly on her shoulder. "It's from Harry!" she couldn't get the grin off her face or the giddy feeling out of her stomach.

"What does it say?" James asked urgently.

Amelia cleared her throat. "_Dear James, Lily and Amelia, I hope you are well. I really enjoyed yesterday and would like to see you again soon. If convenient, would you like to join us for dinner at Headquarters tonight around 7? I hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, Harry._"

It was an awfully formal letter for Harry to be writing to his parents, but he had never had any experience writing to his parents before and they had only known each other for a day. Lily and James would soon have to fix that when both of their children went to Hogwarts in September. "We're going, right?" Amelia asked anxiously.

"Of course," Lily said immediately, it wasn't even something that needed to be considered. _Harry wanted to see them again_, it was like a chant that went round and round in her head and filled her with complete and utter joy. "I'll write him back."

While Lily carefully penned the letter, Amelia doted on the owl that was still perched on her shoulder. "You're _gorgeous_, aren't you?" The owl hooted approvingly as Amelia stroked her and grinned. "Are you Harry's owl?" the owl nipped affectionately at Amelia's ear earning a giggle.

"Okay, I'm done," Lily announced, looking the letter over for a final time. She had signed it _Love, Lily, James and Amelia._ "Bring this to Harry?" she gave the letter to the owl who hooted in affirmation. Amelia then opened the kitchen window and let the owl fly away once more.

* * *

"Can we leave yet?" Amelia was asking for the millionth time. She had been waiting all day and it was excruciating. As the day wore on, time seemed to pass slower and slower until she was quite certain that seven o'clock would never come at all. Suffice to say, Amelia was excited and anxious to see her brother again. He had been very quiet the previous day and while it was completely understandable, Amelia was determined to crack him.

"His letter said to come a seven, sweetheart, it's only six-fifteen," was Lily's patient answer though Amelia knew her mother was just as or even more anxious to see Harry again.

"But, Mum-"

"Amelia," Lily warned gently.

"Fine," her words were an exaggerated and dramatic sigh as she sat down and began counting the minutes until they could leave. She was excited to see Harry again and wanted to get to know her big brother but she couldn't help but wonder what things might be like in the future. They would be at Hogwarts together this year, of course, and maybe even in the same house if they were lucky. She desperately wanted to be in Gryffindor- it was her brother's house and it had been her parents' house too when they were in school. Almost every witch or wizard she knew had been in Gryffindor.

But what if she wasn't in Gryffindor? She wouldn't _hate_ being in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, she decided, but Gryffindor was her first choice. If she wasn't in Gryffindor, she probably wouldn't get to see Harry much, from what her parents told her it seemed like people tended to stick with the other students in their houses. It would also give Harry a lot of room to avoid her. And maybe he would be angry with her if she ended up in another house. Gryffindor would give them something in common, Amelia just hoped that she would be brave enough.

She wasn't sure what it would be like to have an older brother. Would he help her with her homework? Show her where her classes were? Ignore her? Her friend Mary had an older brother and he did everything he could to pretend that his little sister didn't exist. Amelia hoped Harry wouldn't be like that. He didn't seem like he would be but Mary's brother was kind and well-liked when Mary wasn't around.

Then, of course, Amelia had to wonder how things would be between her and Harry when they weren't in school. Would Harry spend Christmas with them? Amelia and her parents had always spent quiet Christmases together and with no other family it was always just the three of them. They decorated the tree together, made Christmas cookies and some years they even went to church. Every year, her mother would roast a chicken and cook up a variety of vegetables and rolls to go with it and for dessert there was always some type of pie. Last year, her parents had even let her have a sip of wine. Amelia thought it was disgusting but it made her feel like a grownup. Would Harry join them for Christmas this year? Would three become four and would Harry help them hang ornaments and place the star upon the tree? Would Harry get a glass of wine with dinner? Would Harry hang a stocking with the rest of them?

Or were their days of quiet Christmases gone? Amelia's dad was very close with Remus and Sirius and her mother with Emmeline- none of them were married or had children, perhaps they would spend Christmas with them. Since Emmeline and Remus were Amelia's godparents and Sirius was Harry's godfather, it did make sense for them to spend Christmas together. But Harry was also very close with the Weasleys, he might want to spend Christmas with them. Maybe a new _Potter_ tradition would replace the _Andrews_ tradition and from now on they would spend Christmas with the Weasleys and the rest of the Order. The thought made Amelia hesitant and uneasy- she liked them all well enough but change was a difficult thing and there had been so much of that lately.

She also had to wonder if Harry would move in with them as well. They had a guest bedroom- that would become Harry's room, she assumed. From what Amelia knew, Harry would not want to go back to the Dursleys for summer holidays so that left the Potters since he couldn't very well spend his whole holiday with the Weasleys or Sirius. He was her parents' child as much as Amelia was, so eventually he would live with them, or so she assumed.

She tried to imagine finding Harry in the kitchen in the mornings, eating a bowl of cereal, chatting with Lily or discussing Quidditch with James. Perhaps he would ruffle his little sister's hair the way their dad sometimes did, but the image wouldn't form. She could not imagine Harry joining in on their daily routines as much as she wanted to. Perhaps it would just take some more time.

When the time finally came to leave, Amelia took her father's hand and braced herself for the sensation of apparating. She recognized it now, but that didn't make her comfortable with it. London wasn't _that_ far, why couldn't they just drive or take the train? When they landed in the entry hall of Grimmauld Place, she felt a bit unwell but pushed the feeling aside quickly, glancing around for Harry but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, you're here!" Mrs. Weasley greeted them with a warm smile in a somewhat hushed voice. "I would call Harry but the portrait has been acting up today…"

Amelia was about to ask what portrait when she found out, "_Mudbloods, blood traitors, filthy half breeds! Stains of dishonor in the house of my father-_" She had heard about talking portraits and moving photographs from her parents, but she hadn't seen any personally. She hoped they weren't all like this.

"SHUT UP!" Lily did not recognize the voice right away but she recognized the boy when she saw him, Ronald Weasley was descending the stairs, Harry and Hermione followed him.

"_Ronald!_" Molly scolded her son's blatant lack of manners.

"Well, what were you going to do?" he grumbled. When he stopped at the bottom of the stairs his eyes found James, Lily and Amelia as though he hadn't noticed them before.

"It's good to see you again," Lily said generally. It was nice to see Harry's friends again, but she was obviously much happier to see her son.

"Hi," Harry said awkwardly, ruffling his hair nervously. He was happy to see his parents of course, but he didn't know what to say or how to act around them. The situation was still awkward and tense.

"Hi, Harry," Lily smiled gently at her son. "How are you?"

"Good," he said, as any social skills that he had previously possessed disappeared suddenly. All the questions he had thought to ask were gone from his mind and he stood there dumbly, staring at his parents.

Mrs. Weasley recognized his moment of silent panic and interjected, "Well, dinner is ready, come on." The entire group followed her to the kitchen where Sirius, Remus, Arthur, Ginny and the twins were already waiting. They had written to Emmeline but she had to work late after missing so much lately. She had told the Ministry that she had been ill, as she couldn't very well tell them the whole long and complex story of how her deceased best friend had suddenly resurfaced having never died at all.

As they made their greetings Amelia appeared at Harry's side and smiled up at him. "Sit by me?"

"Erm, sure," and as the little girl took a seat so did Harry. When he briefly made eye contact with Hermione, she shot him a supportive grin.

When Lily sat on his other side and James across from him, Harry began to pile food on his plate. Lily watched him, he was a teenage boy with a massive appetite but he reminded Lily of a bear preparing for hibernation… Or a neglected child who wasn't sure when his next meal would be, she realized painfully. "Don't forget your broccoli," she told him absently, serving herself some potatoes, then froze as realized her words. He looked at her with a strange, unreadable expression on his face. Was it her place to remind him to eat his vegetables? Perhaps someday it would be or in another life it would have been, but not now. Not yet. She _was_ his mother but she had only known him for a day- he had only known her for a day. Harry said nothing in response but added a mountain of broccoli to his plate as well and Lily smiled with relief.

"So, what did you do in the muggle world?" Harry asked after a few minutes of shoveling food in his mouth, when his nerves had somewhat calmed and his brain began working again.

"I- um," Lily stumbled over her words, surprised that Harry was starting a conversation. Her eyes met those of her son, full of cautious curiosity. "Um, well, I worked in a library until Amelia was born then I started writing children's books and James was a cop," she finished with confidence. Harry nodded but didn't say anything. He had started the conversation but now Lily needed to keep it going. "Mostly I wrote picture books, but they were all fantasy, like somewhere in my subconscious I knew about magic. A lot of the books feature an old wizard who looks a lot like Dumbledore."

"Really?" Harry asked, the hint of a smile on his lips.

"Yes," she smiled. "He had all sorts of adventures, slaying dragons and defeating dark wizards and helping people with his magic."

"Wait- _really?_" Harry asked, amused. There was no doubt that Dumbledore was one of the greatest wizards who had ever lived, but the idea of him as some sort of superhero wizard was rather comical.

"Yes," Lily laughed. "It frustrated our therapist to no end. When I started writing, she thought it would be a great way for my subconscious to reveal hidden memories. She thought I might write a story about London and wake up one morning and realize that I had grown up there. Or that I would write about an orange cat and realize that my childhood cat was orange and I would have a breakthrough and all my memories would come back." Lily shook her head, amused by the thought. "She kept encouraging me to write but I was only ever inspired to write about magic. She thought I must just be creative since she didn't believe that magic existed. Little did she know…" Harry smiled, muggles were always perfectly happy to turn a blind eye to things they didn't understand. "They got pretty popular, actually."

"Really? I-I'd like to see them," Harry said.

"I'll bring some next time," she promised, grinning triumphantly. She wanted to keep talking, tell him even more about her books or anything, really. She had somehow sparked his interest and she would take advantage of that for as long as she could. "Most of them, thinking back now, were just general depictions of my knowledge of magic- like dragons. Most of them didn't have a lot of personal meaning to me, maybe that's why I never had a breakthrough. Or maybe simply writing about magic wasn't enough. But there was one book about a werewolf- it was always James's favorite…" The story had been his favorite because it made the wall itch like mad; he had read it a hundred times in attempt to hold onto the strange feeling of familiarity but the book itself apparently hadn't been enough. Harry watched her with interest, willing her to continue so she told him the story.

"There was a little village on the edge of a forest and every night the villagers were frightened by the sounds of a wolf in the woods. It made so much noise, howling at the moon and growling threateningly. Even though the wolf had never hurt anyone, they were afraid that it would one day come after them and kill their livestock and their children so they asked the old wizard for his help and he agreed. One night, the wizard went looking for the wolf intending to use his magic to help him or keep him from hurting the villagers. As night slowly became day, the wizard found the wolf running around, playing with a large black dog and a stag, but when the sun rose the wolf collapsed and transformed into a man.

"The wizard discovered that the man was cursed for the sins of his father to turn into a wolf every night when the moon rose. He was too afraid of hurting people to live in the village so he lived alone in the forest without friends or family. The old wizard tried and tried to lift the curse but he was not able to. All he could do was take away the pain that came with the transformations and charm the stag and the dog to transform into humans when the man did so they could keep him company as animals at night and as humans during the day and he would never be lonely… I suppose my subconscious remembered more than I ever realized." Lily smiled at Harry as she finished the story.

"My mum used to read me those books!" Hermione burst suddenly apparently having listened to Lily's story. Remus stared at her with a curious look on his face. Dumbledore may have been the star of her books but Lily had written one almost entirely about him and his condition. He wondered if it was because her subconscious had known he had been alone all those years or perhaps her subconscious just remembered the friends she and James had left behind. "I haven't thought about them in years… I used to love them… There was one about flying, wasn't there?" Hermione recalled. She had thought about the books briefly when she first got her Hogwarts letter and flipped through them in her excitement but discarded and quickly forgot about them once she got _real_ magic books.

Lily nodded, "Yes, the old wizard invented a broomstick so he could get from place to place."

"I can't wait to fly," Amelia said longingly, the book about the old wizard flying had always been her favorite. And after all of Harry's stories and what her dad had told her, she was anxious to get up in the air.

"You'll learn this year at Hogwarts," Harry assured her. All first years had flying lessons on school brooms with Madam Hooch.

"We could have a Quidditch match," Ron suggested. "We could go to the Burrow for an afternoon and play in the orchard, right, Mum?"

Mrs. Weasley nodded hesitantly, the house was warded enough to be safe for an afternoon. "I was planning on going there for a short time tomorrow."

Ron grinned triumphantly, "What do you think, Harry? You and Gin can be seekers, Fred and George, beaters, I could be keeper but we'd need another keeper and chasers-"

"Emmeline used to play keeper, if we can get her to come," James interrupted excitedly. "And I was a chaser. Sirius played beater but he makes a decent enough chaser-"

"I'm a brilliant chaser, I just preferred beater," Sirius chimed in, a smile across his lips, thrilled at the idea of playing Quidditch for the first time in far too many years.

"I don't know…" Mrs. Weasley cut in again. It was one thing for the Potters and the children to play Quidditch at the Burrow but it was quite another for Sirius to play. Not only could that attract Death Eaters but also the Ministry and harboring a wanted criminal would certainly earn both Weasley parents a sentence in Azkaban then what would happen to their children? "Sirius, I'm not sure that's a good idea."

Sirius began to protest, they had him on such a tight leash but surely one afternoon at the Burrow wouldn't hurt. If James and Harry could go, why couldn't he? Remus cut him off, "Molly is right, you should lay low, Sirius."

Dejectedly, Sirius looked to James for support, his best mate would surely stand by him. After all the risky and stupid things they had done in their youth, sneaking out for a game of Quidditch was low on the list. James had a torn and pained look on his face. Years ago Sirius had helped him sneak out of Godric's Hollow several times when they had been in hiding, he would happily return the favor but these were far different circumstances. The last thing he wanted was to see his best friend back in Azkaban. "Padfoot…" It was, after all, his fault that Sirius couldn't leave this godforsaken house for a game of Quidditch. Just as it was his fault that Sirius had spent twelve years in Azkaban. As much as he wanted his friend to play Quidditch with them, he was safe here.

"We'll play when you're free," Harry said suddenly, he saw the pained look on his father's face but said what he did because he was more concerned with leaving Sirius behind like that. "I don't really feel much like playing Quidditch tomorrow anyways."

Suddenly, Sirius realized his selfishness. He wanted to leave the house, of course, he wanted to be free and he would be eventually but he should not get in the way of everyone else enjoying themselves, bitter as he was. Harry's relationship with his parents was delicate right now and perhaps a friendly game of Quidditch would help bring Harry and his father together. Harry deserved a chance to play Quidditch with James, Sirius could not keep him from that especially when they had no idea how long it would be before he would be free. "Harry, no, you should go. Don't mind me-"

"Nah," Harry shrugged casually to give the impression that he didn't really care. "Besides, you need time to mentally prepare yourself to lose."

"Oi! I might be on your team!" Sirius laughed heartily.

"I don't think so," Harry shook his head, smirking. "I only let winners on my team."

"Brat."

"Old man," Harry shot back and the previously tense atmosphere dissipated and casual conversation resumed. James, however, was silent, focused on the friendly banter between his best friend and his son. Having lacked a father figure throughout his entire life, it only made sense for Harry to latch on to the closest thing he had to a father, his godfather, Sirius. Harry had never thought he would ever have a father so Sirius had taken that place in Harry's life. But now that James, his actual father, was there, was there room for him in Harry's life or was that spot permanently occupied by Sirius?

His thoughts were swiftly interrupted by the sound of Harry's voice. "James, could you pass the salt?" His eyes snapped to meet Harry's, wide with surprise. His son had just called him by his first name- not Dad.

All those years ago, Harry's first word had been _dada_. Lily was insanely jealous and assured him (after much research) that most children's first words were _dada_ because that was simply the way that fine motor skills like speaking developed in babies. Sirius, of course, had supported her fervently, he had hoped that Harry's first word would be _Padfoot_ and had held out hope that it would be Harry's second word (it wasn't). James had always been proud that his son's first word had been _dada _it was like a reminder that his baby needed him and that he held a special place in his son's heart.

Harry, of course, didn't know this. He didn't know that he had once called his father _dada_ or how much he had once adored his father as a baby. He didn't know about the countless games of peek-a-boo they had played or the stories that had been read. He didn't know about the special song that James and only James had to sing in order for Harry to fall asleep. He was such a stranger to his own son that he called him by his first name.

James could only blink and stare dumbly at Harry, the little baby who had changed so much and grown into a brave young man. Harry would need time to adjust and if calling them by their first names is what it took, that was fine with James. Maybe eventually Harry could call them Mum and Dad. It would just take time. He picked up the salt and handed it to Harry with a smile fixed on his face to conceal the pain within.

"So that owl this morning, is she yours?" James heard Amelia ask her brother, scarcely paying attention for he was still wrapped up in his own thoughts.

"Yeah, her name is Hedwig," Harry replied, shaking salt over his potatoes.

"She's beautiful," Amelia said.

"Thanks, Hagrid gave her to me for my eleventh birthday." James chocked on his butterbeer and Lily dropped her fork but Harry didn't seem to notice, he was busy explaining who Hagrid was to Amelia with the help of some impressions from Ron. A witch or wizard's eleventh birthday was always a big deal, it was the year they were able to go to Hogwarts and the beginning of the transition between childhood and adulthood. James's parents had gotten him an owl for his own eleventh birthday.

Of course they knew that missing fourteen years of Harry's life meant that they had missed fourteen years' worth of birthdays. It wasn't new information but it had been pushed to the back of their minds with all the excitement of actually meeting Harry. Now, the realization that they had only _just_ missed his fifteenth birthday by a few days was sinking in. It only took a single panicked look between James and Lily to know they were thinking the same thing. What were they going to do?

* * *

Even if the residents of Number 12 Grimmauld Place had decided to play Quidditch the next day, they would not have been able to as a thunderstorm had come in. Rain poured down and thunder shook the house so everyone was stuck inside. The Potters had come over again that afternoon and Lily had brought her books as promised. Throughout her years as a writer, she had participated in many readings at libraries and bookstores, but none had ever been quite like this. Mostly the children she read to were somewhere between the ages of four and eight. Now she sat in the living room of Grimmauld Place reading her books aloud to a group of teenagers and Amelia.

It wasn't so much a reading as it was a discussion, however. She would only read a page or two before one of the teens (usually Hermione) would point out a similarity or difference between her story and real magic. This would often spur questions from Amelia and a full blown discussion. Books that usually took five or ten minutes to read now took close to an hour to get through, not that Lily minded. Harry seemed to be more comfortable around them now, he had made a remark at one point that Dumbledore would not have been spry enough to defeat the dragon in the way he was portrayed. This had sent Ron into roaring, hysterical laughter and earned them both disapproving glares from Hermione, though Lily noticed that she was trying hard to conceal a smile.

Off in a corner, James played Wizard's chess against Sirius while Remus watched on. The winner of this match would face Ron afterwards. "So Lily and I realized last night that we missed Harry's birthday," James said as Sirius considered his next move. Both he and Remus looked up bewildered at this sudden and unrelated revelation. "I mean, we knew that we had but it sort of hit us last night." James glanced around, making sure that they wouldn't be overheard.

"I don't think Harry really expects anything, he doesn't really care too much for his birthday, I don't think," Remus tried to reassure his friend. James had the tendency to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, blaming himself for anything that went wrong. This was a tendency Harry had inherited.

"Besides, having the two of you alive has probably made him happier than anything else would," Sirius agreed.

"I know, but we want to do something for him, get him something. We have fourteen years' worth of birthdays to make up for." And presents were just _things_, but they were _things_ that parents gave to their children and they were important. James recalled his prized broomstick his parents had given him for Christmas during his sixth year, how he and his father had taken turns flying it on Christmas morning and all the Quidditch matches he had won with it. Sometimes, gifts created memories and perhaps the need to give Harry a birthday gift came from the need to create memories with him but it was something he needed to do nevertheless.

"Well Harry isn't really into material things, mate," Sirius told him, finally deciding on a move. "Checkmate."

"Blimey," James muttered in regards to the chess game. "But, we still want to get him something, we just don't know what. You two know him better than anyone, I thought you might be able to help."

Perhaps James as overestimating just how well his two best friends knew his son, perhaps he was just trying to flatter them into helping him but Sirius knew of at least two people who knew Harry much better than he and Remus did. "Not anyone…" Sirius trailed off. "Ron, your turn!" he called Harry's best friend over and James moved aside as they reset the board.

"Ready to lose again?" Ron challenged his best friend's godfather with a smirk.

"I think today is my day to win," Sirius said hopefully, never having won against Ron. No one ever did. "You and Hermione got Harry some Honeydukes for his birthday, right?" he asked casually.

"Yeah," Ron replied absently, considering the board and his first move.

"James and Lily want to get him something, do you have any suggestions?"

Ron looked up, confused and glanced between the three adults curiously. With his brow furrowed he said, with some obvious discomfort, "Erm. He likes Bertie Bott's. And Honeydukes."

"Right," James said, he had hoped for something a bit more significant and meaningful than that, but that's what you get for asking a fifteen-year-old boy.

Ron bit the inside of his cheek, considering. "Hermione might know better- oi! Hermione, come help me for a second."

Hermione rolled her eyes and walked over. "Honestly, Ronald, I don't even like chess," she pursed her lips in annoyance. There was something about their relationship that James couldn't put his finger on that reminded him of his and Lily's.

"Harry's parents want to get him something for his birthday, since it was only last week," he told her.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" she smiled widely but spoke in a hushed voice so Harry wouldn't overhear. "He'll be so happy, he's never gotten anything from you, obviously, not that he remembers anyways. I don't think he's ever even had a birthday party. What will you give him?"

"They don't know yet," Ron explained.

"Oh," Hermione said, frowning and appearing to deflate a bit. "Well, he does like Honeydukes."

"That's what I said!" Ron exclaimed.

"But I suppose you wanted to give him something more personal…" James nodded eagerly while the young witch considered this. Receiving chocolates from friends was one thing, it was almost expected, but from his parents it would be completely different, it would be too impersonal. They wanted to give him something that would be permanent and remind Harry of them. They hardly knew him so it would be difficult, but they had only missed his birthday by a few days. "Well, he loves Quidditch but he has a broom and everything already… He doesn't really care for things but, I suppose his most prized possessions really are his broomstick, the invisibility cloak, the map and of course his photo album," Hermione mused.

"His photo album?" James asked, this sparked his attention.

Hermione nodded, "Hagrid gave it to him, it's full of photos of you and Lily and Harry as a baby."

"Oh, okay," He nodded.

"He would really love anything you gave him, I think." She glanced in the direction of her best friend, making sure that he wouldn't overhear. "He carried around that letter from you guys the whole day yesterday and I wouldn't be surprised if it was in his pocket even now. A handwritten card would go a long way with him too."

"Okay. Thank you, Hermione," he said.

"No problem, Mr. Potter."

"It's James," he corrected. Hermione nodded dutifully with a smile and returned to where Lily, Harry, Amelia and Ginny were sitting and talking. Ideas began to form in James's mind. The photo album that Hagrid had given Harry was a reminder of the past. What they wanted was something that promised a new and happy future for them as a family. Pieces began to come together and James Potter had an idea, now he would just need to put it into action.

* * *

Well, there it is! I almost made this two chapters but decided the second part wasn't long enough to warrant its own chapter. I wanted this one to be a bit lighter than the previous chapter (two chapters? three?) while showing the developing relationship between the Potters. That being said, it felt like a bit of a filler chapter when I started writing it but I think the views of James, Lily and Amelia were important to see as well as seeing Molly Weasley surrogate-mother-extraordinaire.

Since James and Lily missed Harry's birthday by a week or so, I also wanted to resolve that since with all the excitement it was sort of put on the back burner. I feel like they'd want to do something about that and all the other birthdays they missed. Thoughts about that? Too cheesy?

Overall, how was the chapter? How do you guys feel about the whole reuniting process as a whole? Too fast? Too slow? Anything you guys want to see? Any concerns? Let me know, I love hearing from you guys!


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks again for all the reviews, favorites and follows! You guys are the best! And I'm SO sorry it took me a lot longer than usual to update!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

* * *

Having grown up as an only child, one might have expected Amelia to be selfish. However, quite the opposite was true; she was considered to be very generous amongst her peers and parents. She had never had a problem sharing her toys or including people at school. The joy of others made her happy which was part of what made her so easy to get along with. Quick to laugh, eager to please and easy to talk to, it wasn't difficult to like Amelia.

She simply adored being around people and while she loved being the center of attention (she had been raised as an only child, after all) she didn't need to be as long as she was close to the action. Being around people gave her energy and made her happy but inversely, being alone brought her to a dark and lonely place she couldn't stand, so she always managed to find ways to keep busy. She made up games and played pranks and if she found a book engaging enough, she could sit still for hours reading it. She liked to imagine herself into stories full of adventure and exciting characters. Books were always a last resort for her boredom, however. She enjoyed hands-on activities more.

Amelia thrived off of new experiences, they were thrilling to her. But she would often get bored of things once the novelty wore off and she would abandon projects halfway through finishing them. The process of doing things, for her, was more important than the end result. She always had many projects that would lay unfinished- puzzles missing the last few pieces, coloring pages that were half done, books that she had abandoned when there wasn't enough action. But she would quickly and easily move on to the next new and exciting thing.

This quality didn't make her the best student. She was bright enough to excel at whatever she put her mind to, but school rarely captured her attention, she found herself bored when discussing theoretical subjects or reading about what she perceived as boring subjects. Being bored was only a step away from being lonely, for her. When she felt lonely, stress and anxiety would begin to overwhelm her, the walls felt like they were closing in and it seemed like the whole world was out to get her. So she kept busy and surrounded herself with people and new and exciting activities.

It was also not uncommon for her to lie to her parents about having homework if it didn't capture her attention enough, which it rarely did. Instead, she would seek out the thrill of different experiences, whether she went to play in the woods or to a friend's house. Then, exhausted at the end of the day, she would be forced to stay up under her sheets with a flashlight and the homework she had procrastinated on. The only thing she hated more than homework was her parents' disappointment when she brought home bad grades and the conflict that came with it. She probably wouldn't do her homework at all if she didn't despise conflict so much. However, she always managed to bring home good enough grades to appease her parents and avoid a crisis all together.

This hatred of conflict made her cautious and paired with a disregard for rules (inherited from her father) made her an excellent prankster. When pranking, she was the perfect combination of Prongs, Padfoot and Moony which made for some flawless pranks. But it wasn't just rules she disregarded but other conventions as well like appointments, plans and commitment. She preferred to play things by ear and dive head first into things, adjusting to new situations quickly.

She liked new experiences and knew it wouldn't do any good to stress over them or be afraid. Her solution to any problem she came across was to ignore it (just like her homework) until it stopped being a problem or it blew up in her face. She simply didn't handle stress well, stress brought her back to that cold and lonely place so it was easiest to keep busy, pretend her problems didn't exist and maintain a positive outlook on everything. However, not all of her problems could just be ignored.

It wasn't always so easy to pretend that everything was always okay though she preferred pretending to confrontation. And it wasn't always easy to keep up the façade, especially now. She had been excited to meet Harry and she loved him already and she couldn't wait to get to know him better. But now that the novelty of having a brother began to wear off, reality was setting in. Stress and anxiety were overwhelming as the problems she had previously ignored began to make themselves known once more.

Two weeks ago, she had been Amelia Andrews, without a doubt. Her parents had been Jacob and Eva Andrews, she had been an only child and magic did not exist. But now her world had been turned upside down. She had a brother, her parents were called James and Lily now and in less than a month she would be going to magical boarding school. She always adjusted easily, but this was a lot to adjust to. She just had so many unanswered questions and so many worries about Hogwarts and leaving her muggle life behind- she would miss all of her friends and everything here but she felt like she couldn't talk to her parents about it. They were too busy worrying about Harry.

And he needed it, she knew. Harry desperately needed some attention and love from their parents and she was happy that he was starting to get more comfortable with them. It felt selfish to want their attention too, but he was taking up so much of their focus that it seemed like there wasn't any left for her. She was good at sharing but the one thing she never thought she would have to share was her parents.

And it wasn't as though she wanted them to drop him like a hot potato, but if they could send a little more love and attention her way, she would be happy. They weren't doing it on purpose, they had merely forgotten that this was all new and overwhelming for her too. She didn't want to bring it up for fear of being selfish and causing conflict, but when her mum was chatting cheerily about Harry that morning, something inside Amelia snapped.

"Does it always have to be about Harry?" she could hardly believe the words herself until they came out of her mouth and she was met with the shocked and hurt expressions from her parents. This is exactly the type of conflict she had always been so skilled at avoiding. She needed to resolve this as quickly and painlessly as possible. Before they could even respond she said very, very quickly, "I didn't mean it like that… I just…" She sighed, "It's all really overwhelming for me too and Hogwarts is less than a month away and I feel so unprepared and scared."

"Merlin, Amelia," her mum said, her expression betrayed the shocked and hurt feelings within. For the first time she had to balance having two children and it was more difficult than she could have imagined, especially when both of needed a lot of attention right now. "I had no idea… I suppose we've gotten so caught up with everything with Harry… We can cancel today, if you'd like-"

"No, Merlin, no," Amelia cut her off quickly. Harry's hearing was the next day, he would need them. She knew that not having their support today would be damaging to their relationship with him. "I don't want you to do that. I just need a little time with you guys too."

"Okay," Lily nodded slowly, considering their options. "Severus is coming over for coffee in a little bit so you'll have the morning with your dad then when Harry comes over, maybe you and I can have a girl's day?"

"Okay," Amelia said, beaming and visibly relieved, "That sounds good."

* * *

Severus had always looked strange in muggle clothes and it was no different when he showed up on their doorstep later that morning. As children, his clothes were always a little too big or a bit too small and never quite matched. Now, even though his clothes matched and fit properly, he still looked a bit odd to Lily.

She had written him only last night and invited him for coffee. After eating dinner at Grimmauld Place again and after the evening's conversation, a talk with her childhood best friend, it seemed, was long overdue. Harry had previously hinted at his dislike for Severus, but had never gone into detail about it. Lily had added it to her mental list of questions to ask at a later date, she didn't want to press him on things he wasn't ready to talk about and Severus, it seemed, was one of those topics. But over dinner, Hogwarts had come up and Lily asked Harry and his friends what their favorite courses were.

"Defense," had been Harry's immediate response and from what Remus had told them, he had quite an aptitude for the class.

"Charms or Transfiguration," Hermione had said then pursed her lips in deliberation. She reminded Lily of herself a bit at that age. Charms had been her best class, but she liked the challenge of Transfiguration and the process of Potions, it had always been difficult for her to choose just one favorite lesson. "Though Ancient Runes is fascinating…"

"Hermione has never met a class or a book she didn't like," Ron muttered with a smirk earning him a glare from the girl in question.

"Except Divination," Harry inserted.

"Well, it is a ridiculous subject," Hermione huffed and Lily couldn't help but nod in agreement. She had taken it for a year and dropped it in the end out of shear frustration. In her eyes, it wasn't even a real subject; it was completely subjective and unverifiable.

"And you, Ron? What's your favorite subject?" Lily asked, curious about her son's best friend. Knowing someone's friends told a lot about the person in question and it would be no different with Harry. Getting to know his friends would help her get to know him.

"Anything but Potions," he grumbled stabbing at his food at the mere thought of the Potions Master.

"Honestly, Ronald," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Hermione," Ron looked at her seriously, "You have to admit, Snape is a git."

The girl was hesitant, apparently uncomfortable about badmouthing teachers especially in the presence of adults. "He _is_ somewhat biased towards his own house…" Her answer was as diplomatic as it could get.

"Somewhat?" Harry snorted incredulously.

"Hermione," Ron argued, "he hates you, he hates me and he hates Harry _especially_. He goes out of his way to make Harry's life a nightmare and-"

"Severus?" Lily interrupted, brow furrowed. The fact that Severus was biased towards his own house and harbored a dislike towards every other house was not something that surprised Lily, she had almost expected it. And while she had never expected Harry to receive special treatment from her childhood best friend, she hadn't expected him to go out of his way to hate her son either.

"Snape," Ron corrected, "Yeah. Our potions professor."

"Why would he try to make Harry's life a nightmare?" Harry _was_ James's son which on its own may have put him on the receiving end of hatred from Snape, but he was also Lily's son. Severus cared about her, so he should care about her son too, right? Or at the very least his feelings for Lily and his feelings for James should cancel each other out making him indifferent towards Harry. Perhaps his hatred for James was stronger than whatever he felt towards Lily.

Ron only shrugged, "He's just hated Harry since day one."

"But, why?" she pressed, Harry looked like he wanted to sink into the floor.

"Dunno," Ron replied, piling more food on his plate.

"Do you know him?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Yes," Lily replied absently, her mind was still trying to process this information. "We were friends once."

Harry began choking on his pumpkin juice, Hermione looked appalled and Ron, disgusted, "That slimy git?" Harry knew that his mother had been acquainted with Snape, but, friends? No. It was impossible…

"I met him when I was a child," she explained, almost defending herself. "He introduced me to magic before my Hogwarts letter… Is he really terrible?"

"No," Harry said, he didn't want to offend her or force her to choose sides. But at the same time he spoke, Ron said, "Yes."

"He just doesn't like anyone who isn't in Slytherin, he's just really biased towards his own house," Harry insisted.

"Only he hates Harry more than he hates the rest of non-Slytherins combined, he goes out of his way to hate Harry. He gives him detentions for the smallest things and always deducts points and singles him out and asks him questions no one knows the answer to. Or at least no one but Hermione." Ron said obliviously through a mouthful of food which Lily suspected had earned him a swift kick under the table from Hermione judging by the sudden pained look on his face.

"I can talk to him, if you'd like, Harry," Lily offered. Severus would listen to her, she was certain.

"No," he said quickly. "Really, it's alright. It isn't a big deal."

They had dropped the issue soon after and even though she said she would not to seek Snape out to talk to him about Harry, there was nothing wrong with her inviting an old friend over for coffee, right? And if Hogwarts happened to come up, it would be weird for her not to talk to him about her son. Anyways, she couldn't just do nothing about the situation especially since Amelia would soon be Severus's student as well. She truly did want to try to be friends with Severus again and it was her duty, as a friend, to talk to him about this as much as it was her duty as a mother to defend and protect her children. She could not see herself being friends with him for very long if she knew he was abusing his power over her children.

As they sat in the living room drinking coffee and eating biscuits, the conversation eventually did drift to Hogwarts and his lessons and that was when Lily seized her chance. "I spoke with Harry and his friends about their lessons at Hogwarts last night," she remarked casually, taking a sip of coffee and watching him. His expression was a carefully guarded mask that did not change with her remark.

"Indeed?" he said with the cool, casual tone he had mastered ages ago.

"Yes. They told me some interesting things about your lessons," she tried her best to keep her tone warm but it was difficult when she felt so betrayed by the man she had once called her best friend. He should have been helping her son instead of trying to make his life more difficult. It was difficult enough already.

"Did they?" he raised an eyebrow. He could guess at the sorts of things the trio of Gryffindors had to say about their Potion's professor and lessons.

Lily nodded and continued coolly, "Yes. They mentioned something about you being biased towards your own house and singling Harry out repeatedly to embarrass him and make him miserable."

Severus blinked and stared at her in shock for a moment. He hadn't expected her to be so blunt or so collected. "Lily, I-"

"Why, Severus?" She didn't give him a chance to make up excuses. Her eyes were full of accusations and disappointment. In a way it would have been better if she yelled and screamed at him, easier. This- her disappointment and pain- filled him with shame and guilt. "Why do you single him out? I want for us to be friends again and for us to put the past behind us, but I can't be the only one to do so, you have to too. So, why? What makes you hate Harry so much?"

He held her gaze for a few moments before answering. The response was practiced, he told it to himself at times and he had used it with Professor Dumbledore before. "He is exactly like his father- lazy, arrogant, he relishes in his fame and-"

"Severus," she stopped him and he recognized the angry red tinge in her cheeks but she still did not raise her voice, it was dangerously low. "From all I have seen, he is _none_ of those things. How can you even accuse him of relishing in his fame when what he became famous for caused him to grow up as an orphan? And with Petunia…" His face was still a mask. "Do you remember how James was a fifteen?"

"Vividly," he replied dryly.

Lily nodded, "He was intolerable. Harry is _nothing_ like that. What is the real reason?" She had always been able to see right through him and she still could, even after all these years. He would have to lie through his teeth because he would die before he told her the real reason. He simply could not do it.

He could not tell Lily that her son was not only a living, breathing reminder of his father's cruelty and Severus's humiliation during their school days but was a walking reminder of everything Severus had done wrong. The Potter boy was a reminder of every mistake Severus had made and of all of his regrets. He could not tell Lily that her son's presence alone reminded him of everything that could have been but could never be. He was a reminder of everything Severus had lost. _Whom_ he had lost. He could not tell her that for all those years he had wished her son had died so that she might have lived. How could he do that to her? She was alive now, after all.

"Is it really just everything with James?" She asked after a long while in silence.

"Yes," he replied, his voice was tight.

"Severus," her features softened. "I know James was terrible in school and I know he instigated the whole feud and rivalry between the two of you, but it was a two way street- it wasn't all one-sided. You played your part too. James didn't always cast the first curse." He had not only provoked James and the other Maruauders on several occasions, but he had also instigated fights.

"I know." He avoided her piercing gaze.

"And you and James are on speaking terms now, right?" Her tone was hopeful.

"Yes."

"So, can you please put this feud behind you? Just let this hatred go, _please_. Hasn't it gone on long enough? I'm not saying you should start treating Harry like some golden boy and put him on a pedestal or anything, that's unreasonable, just stop finding excuses to hate him, stop singling him out, he has enough on his plate. Just treat him like any other student, okay? Please?"

One look into her pleading eyes and he was fifteen again, unable to deny her anything. He would have found a way to give her the moon if she had asked, "Okay." He would at least try, if it would make her happy.

"Excellent," she grinned that radiant, flawless smile of hers.

He paused, there had been a time when he would have gotten hexed for much less. "I would have expected you to shout and never want to see me again," he admitted.

"That can still be arranged," she teased. "Honestly though, we're adults, we should be able to talk about things like adults, yelling at you and hexing you won't do a bit of good. And we agreed to try to be friends again and this is how friends deal with problems." Now she paused. She had come up with a plan that would simultaneously distract Harry from his upcoming hearing, lift some of the burden and pain Sirius carried with him constantly and strengthen Harry's relationship with James. Now, she just needed to implement it and she could not do it without Severus. Having guilt-tripped him enough, he would most likely feel that he owed her one- she knew him- and she would take advantage of that. "But I do have a favor to ask…"

"Anything," his response was instantaneous.

An impish sort of smile spread across her lips and he knew that could only mean trouble. "Well, I need a small amount of Polyjuice potion and two broomsticks…"

* * *

"Did you bring it?" Lily asked, giddy with excitement when Sirius and Harry arrived at the cottage that afternoon. It was all coming together now.

"Yes," Sirius held three red hairs in his hand, "Lily, what is this about?"

She snatched the hairs from him and carefully added them to the vial that contained the potion. "That's polyjuice potion," Harry noted, watching her. "Why do we need polyjuice potion?"

Lily didn't answer his question but raised an eyebrow at her son, "Do I even want to know how you know what polyjuice looks like?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I just- erm- pay really good attention during potions?" Sirius barked a laugh and Lily rolled her eyes but didn't press the issue, though she made a mental note to ask him about it in the future. Honestly, polyjuice potion? What in Merlin's name was Harry getting into at that school?

"So, why do we need polyjuice, Lil?" Sirius pressed. James was bouncing with excitement next to her, he was in on the plan as well. Amelia on the other hand had been disappointed that she was missing out on flying, but her parents promised her that she would get a chance later, they had a couple days before they had to give the brooms back. Anyways, she had sort of been looking forward to a normal day without magic for once.

"Well, I was thinking about how Ron suggested a Quidditch match the other night and obviously it would be really dangerous for you to participate, both for you and the Weasleys. And since they're close with Harry, it makes sense that Death Eaters might be watching them and if you were there…" she didn't have to finish that thought, they all knew how that could end. "But no one knows we're back and no one knows we're here. We so isolated and we have more than enough room for a bit of flying _as long as you don't fly too high_. So, I put up a few extra wards to keep muggles away and called in a favor with Severus- Harry has a broom, Sev managed to get two more and the polyjuice is just a precaution-"

"Are you serious?" Sirius's eyes were wide with disbelief and a giant smile on his face took about ten years off his appearance.

"No, dear, _you're_ Sirius." His grin grew and he threw his arms around her, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug reminiscent of years long gone.

"Thank you, thank you, _thank you_, Lily," he snatched the vial from her eagerly and took a sip. His face instantly contorted in disgust at the taste then began to change, the wrinkles disappeared, his eyes turned blue, his features elongated and his hair seemed to shoot back into his head and lighten to a vivid shade of red. In place of Sirius, a copy of Ronald Weasley stood before them. He took one look at his pale, freckled hands and looked back up, his grin never faltered.

"Remember, you have to take another dose in an hour," Lily warned, Sirius nodded eagerly. He really was like a big child sometimes, but she was glad to see him acting more like the Sirius she knew. The man was only thirty-five but most of the time he looked closer to fifty. If there was anything she could do to change that and lessen his pain, she would. She surrendered the broom she had procured for him and by that point, Lily was half convinced his smile would split his face in half.

"You're the best, Lil," he kissed her cheek and raced out the door, hardly waiting until he crossed the threshold to throw a leg over the broom and kick off.

"Don't fly too high!" Lily called, chasing after him, when he was out of sight she turned to James. "You'll keep an eye on him? And make sure he takes another dose of polyjuice in an hour." She suddenly felt as though she had three children rather than two.

"Of course, love," James said, holding the other broom Severus had acquired.

"Be safe, both of you," she looked sternly at Harry, "None of those crazy moves I hear you're so fond of pulling. Be careful. Please."

"We will," he assured her, he was grinning too, excited at the prospect of not only seeing his father fly but Sirius as well. He had only ever seen Sirius fly a hippogriff and that wasn't the same as playing Quidditch.

"I expect to find all three of you as whole as you are now when Amelia and I get back," she warned.

"You will," Harry promised.

"Come on, Harry!" James called and Lily watched as James took off and Harry followed in a blur.

Harry hovered on his broom for a while, watching Sirius and James fly around each other. Their movements were fluid and synchronized. Harry could easily imagine them being undefeatable in a Quidditch match, it was as though they knew what the other was thinking before they had the chance to act, even after all these years. He had only ever seen Fred and George fly like that.

They had insisted that Harry show them his moves so he flew around, showing off the speed of the Firebolt before pulling a few other moves that would have made Lily's head spin. James and Sirius's brooms were school brooms and out-dated so they took turns on the Firebolt. James had fawned over its speed and balance, the last broom he had owned was twenty years out-dated by now.

After Sirius's second dose of polyjuice potion they found some balls to use as makeshift Quidditch balls. James threw a football instead of a quaffle, Sirius would hit it with a baseball bat and Harry would speed after it to catch it before it hit the ground. James had wanted to make it more challenging and found a tennis ball which he threw repeatedly to admire Harry's flying skill and he was never disappointed. Harry caught it every time no matter which direction it was thrown in, before it ever hit the ground.

He almost missed once but went into a steep dive and caught the ball just feet from the ground. They had all landed after that and while Sirius congratulated Harry on his flawless dive James was white as a sheet and shaky. He couldn't get the image of Harry speeding towards the ground in a blur out of his head, he had come so close to crashing into the ground head first. Even though Harry had known exactly what he was doing, it was in James's nature to worry about his son. James immediately suggested that they continue the game with the football and the baseball bat instead. They played that until the last dose of polyjuice wore off and they retired inside with a couple butterbeers.

"All those catches you made, Harry, were completely amazing!" James hadn't stopped ranting since they came inside. In fact, he had hardly stopped to breathe. "And that dive- it was incredible but bloody dangerous. Not to mention insane. But amazing. But your mum would have your head if she had seen you do it. But- just- wow." He was having trouble expressing his awe. "My son, the youngest seeker in a century." He grinned. "You're even better than Sirius and Remus led me to believe."

"You too," Harry returned the smile. "Sirius never told me you were that good."

"That's because he's not, not compared with me," Sirius joked, his lopsided grin hadn't left his face since he had picked up the broom earlier. It took a decade off his haunted appearance and he seemed more like the man he should have been- like a man who had never been to Azkaban.

"But, really," Harry continued. "You were great, Da-" he stopped mid word, entirely aware of what he had been about to say. Maybe it had been a mistake, but maybe it had just been natural but he continued as though it had never happened. "The way you threw that curveball, that was amazing-" James didn't hear another word because his heart was soaring. It may have been a slip, it may not have been intentional, but his son had just _nearly_ just called him Dad. It was a step in the right direction.

James cut in again, itching to praise his son some more. "But the way you threw the ball- you'd make a pretty good Chaser as well-"

And while James went on and on about Harry's flying abilities Harry turned a deeper shade of red while grinning proudly at the heaps of approval, praise and fatherly pride that he was being drowned in for the first time in his life. Across town, Lily and Amelia were finishing up a successful day of shopping and manicures with a trip to the grocery store. They needed to pick up a few things for dinner and while Lily carefully chose tomatoes, Amelia said, "Mum, look. It's Mary and her mum." When Lily looked up, sure enough, Amelia's school friend, Mary and her mum, Charlotte were approaching them.

It was a terrible thing, but Lily had nearly forgotten about her muggle life. Getting her memories back was like getting her real life back and everything besides her family seemed unimportant. It was easy to be swept away by the wizarding world all over again and with all the excitement with getting to know Harry, she had hardly looked back. "Hi," she smiled friendlily at the other woman and her daughter.

"Eva, how are you?" Charlotte asked, Lily liked her well enough, their daughters were close so they had chatted often and gotten coffee a few times, but she could be a bit abrasive and loved to gossip. "Well, it isn't Eva, is it? The whole town is buzzing about it- you're all anyone has been talking about- how you got your memories back and you have a son... It's Lily, isn't it? Lily and James Potter, is what I heard."

Lily nearly choked on air, how in the name of Merlin had that gotten out? The only person in town who knew about their memories coming back had been Captain Wallace though their amnesia had never been a secret. She glanced around nervously, the only person in earshot was an extremely pregnant dark-haired woman. She didn't look familiar and she was busy testing the firmness of peaches. Or pretending to, anyways. "How did you know?"

"Captain Wallace is nearly as big of a gossip as his wife," Charlotte said nonchalantly. "Between the two of them, they probably told half the town. It only spread from there, of course…" Noticing Lily's horrified look, the other woman quickly continued. "They didn't mean anything by it, they're just happy for you. Everyone is."

"Of course, thank you," Lily smiled again hoping that she could escape this quickly. This woman was only a muggle, though. It would be fine. The whole town already knew anyways, all she could do now was damage control.

"So, Lily and James Potter, then?"

She couldn't exactly lie about it, but she didn't want to tell the truth either. The only thing she could do was downplay it as much as possible. "Yes," Lily said quietly, trying not to draw attention.

"They say you have a son," Charlotte pressed.

"We do," she said cautiously. "He grew up with my sister."

"Oh, how wonderful!" Charlotte obviously did not know Petunia Dursley though with their mutual love of gossip, Lily suspected that they might have been good friends. "What's his name?"

Lily chewed her lip momentarily, wishing she could obliviate this woman on the spot. Her hand inched towards her wand in her purse, if only she could use it. "Harry," Lily said as quietly as she could, seeing no other option.

"Harry Potter, then!" The other woman exclaimed, smiling widely. "How wonderful-"

"Yes," Lily said impatiently. "He's actually coming for dinner tonight so…"

"Of course, I'll let you get back to it. It was lovely to see you again. Let's get coffee soon and catch up."

"Are you going to registration day at school next week?" Mary asked Amelia and glanced between the two adults.

Amelia and Lily exchanged an awkward glance, they had both known that she wouldn't be returning to the muggle school that year, but they hadn't really acknowledged it or what it would mean. "I'm actually going to boarding school this year," Amelia replied uncomfortably. It felt like a betrayal to her friends, like she was keeping it from them, but Amelia felt like a different person than she had been two weeks ago and this wasn't a secret she could share with them.

Mary and Charlotte's faces both pinched with confusion so Lily quickly fabricated a lie, "It's a family school, I went there and James's family always has too. The children of alumni get in automatically so Harry already goes there."

"Which school?" Charlotte asked, Lily cursed the woman for her boundless curiosity.

"Erm, Saint…" Lily wracked her brain for saints; her family had never been religious so she blurted out the first name that came to her mind. "Catherine's. Saint Catherine's. Harry goes to the brother school, Saint John's," she finished smoothly.

"Hmm… I've never heard of it."

"It's in Scotland," Lily covered quickly. "Okay, well, we should get back to the boys, but we'll do a sending off party for Amelia before she leaves, okay?"

"Okay," the other woman said hesitantly. "We'll see you later."

"See you," Lily sighed in relief, thinking that they had really dodged a bullet there.

* * *

I feel like a terrible person taking so long to post this, but it's been so busy. It's that time of year again where I move across the country to spend obscene amounts of time in the studio, chugging coffee and questioning my sanity while diagramming, making floor plans and renderings. Yes, the new school year started and I'm already drowning in school work. Anyways, I just wanted to forewarn you guys that updates will probably be very, very inconsistent from here on out but I have absolutely no intention of abandoning this story, my main focus just needs to be school and somehow surviving my last year of undergrad!

What do you guys think about this chapter? I wanted to add a bit more depth to Amelia, I think she'd be feeling sort of like a child whose parents brought home a new baby- a little forgotten almost since she's used to being an only child and I wanted to walk through her thought process a bit. I know this chapter was a whole lot of fluff and feelings (which I don't think is my strong suit writing-wise) but I promise more action and plot development is coming soon! I tried to get some Sirius/Emmeline interaction in this chapter but it wasn't working so let me know if that's something you want to see next chapter! As always, I love getting feedback from you guys so let me know what you think!


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